Would you consider it ethically dubious for doctors to give medical 'advice' on a site such as this?

And by giving advice do they meet the criteria for good practice as specified in the attached link





http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/good_medical_practice/duties_of_a_doctor.asp





What are your views?Would you consider it ethically dubious for doctors to give medical 'advice' on a site such as this?
I think it is poor practice, as you only get a limited bit of info, and your answer could sway someone's decision. I've only seen it done once or twice. I limit my answers to just giving out information and the only real advice I give is for the questioner to discuss the options with their doctor.Would you consider it ethically dubious for doctors to give medical 'advice' on a site such as this?
I'm a medical student and I don't think there is anything ethically dubious about doctors giving advice on here. Considering they actually know what they are talking about compared to the thousands of absolute morons who are answering most of the questions on here. I find the people who are claiming to have knowledge about things they don't, ethically dubious.


Giving advice doesn't contradict any of the criteria for good medical practice. Its not even practicing medicine.


There is no harm and it is perfectly acceptable to give advice. You can't diagnose someone over the internet, but I haven't seen anyone do that.
In the interest of ethics, no practicing physician would share any medical instruction or advice that would in any way harm or cause the 'patient' to draw any conclusion that would be detrimental to health and well being. That goes for the person seeking advice or anyone reading the answer. Most physicians would give a generalized overview of what you are experiencing, and advise you to actually visit a doctor. They may also provide advice in how to help the doctor to better understand what you are experiencing and better find a course of action to help you.
Medical advice 鈮?medical practice.





So no a doctor does not meet the criteria for good practice, becausing they are not practicing medicine. The point of Yahoo Answers is to get/give lay advice on a range of issues. If someone with actual knowledge and education in that area provides them with information, it isn't ethically unsound. I haven't seen any medical professional on this site try to claim that YA is a substitute for physically visiting a doctor.
Do you think there are any genuine doctors on this site. I think there is possibly one. I doubt any doctor would waste his time giving advice in this random way.





How do we know that any of the questions are genuine or contain all the relevant information.





I am not a doctor but I have a great deal of experience in health work and unless the question is obvious or generalised I refer the questioner to their own doctor. I don't consider that irresponsible.
Would you consider it ethically dubious if a policeman made an arrest outside of his shift? Or if a lawyer offered legal advise on this site?





This is not a place to practice medicine, and more likely than not, my advise is to arrange an appointment with a GP. However, if that's ethically dubious, then I might just have to stop.





Plus, there are a few doctors on here. Most of the time not answering questions (I can only ever find time to answer a few at a time), but we do exist.





In the grand scheme of things, it's not ethically questionable. Mainly due to the fact that we can't practice medicine over the internet.
Michaelangeliron, there are several very competent physicians on YA- Pangolin is one of them. They do not give specific advice, except to see their own doctor soon, now, or eventually. Usually we just tell them where to look to find the information they seek.


We do not practice Medicine on the Internet.
If you hang around here enough, you'll see that much of the good advice given by the physicians here amounts to ';see your physician';.





This forum is designed to answer questions, not give medical advice or practice medicine. There is no doctor-patient relationship.
Generally, no, it is not ethically dubious. The potential exists, but I cannot recall a situation where a physician in this forum has crossed the line. Most MDs attempt to clarify the questioner's situation, often with the advice ';see your doctor!';
No, because I believe people who try to get free medical advice from here are VERY stupid if they take it seriously. And considering that doctors are meant to be well educated they should be giving no more than pointers with advice to seek further help.
most advice I have seen is just there to calm people who are worried and they nearly always say ';see your doctor';. If someone said something like ';take 2 paracetamol every hour'; then yes, this would be irresponsible.