An interesting article in the NEJM (here’s link to full text: No Appointment Necessary?) explores the ethical and practical challenges of being asked to help in the care of friends and families.  These issues are definitely not abstract.  I would be surprised if most physicians have not received multiple requests for advice or for prescriptions.  Some of the potential problems listed include the following:

• feeling pressured to practice outside their area of expertise
• lack of complete information about the problem
• not asking for sensitive information
• emotional investment/loss of perspective
• conflict of interest
• potential for guilt/remorse if clinical error
• poor documentation

The article notes that “the very first code of medical ethics drafted by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1847 recommended against physicians treating family members, stating that “the natural anxiety and solicitude which he [the physician] experiences at the sickness of a wife, a child . . . tend to obscure his judgment, and produce timidity and irresolution in his practice.”

Yet, in practice, “a 1991 study showed that 99% of surveyed physicians reported having received requests from family members for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment, and 83% had prescribed medications for relatives.6  Physicians cite convenience as a key reason to provide this care, but other explanations have included a wish to save the relative money as well as a belief that ‘I provide the best care.’”

Take-home message (from the authors): It is our hope that providers will think through the potential ethical conflicts before offering informal care. We also urge providers who are involved in medical education to help trainees understand the ethical boundaries of care as part of their professional role and encourage them to refrain from treating friends, family members, and themselves.