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PaperclipPerfector  1mo ago (text post)   2814 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for September 29, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

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This is a US thing? I'm pretty sure that in the UK, this wouldn't fly at all. We're obliged to disclose all relevant information to our patients, though if memory serves there are criteria like mental incapacity where that's not strictly necessary.*

*My gut instinct was wrong. From GMC guidance:

You should not withhold information a patient needs to make a decision for any other reason, including if someone close to the patient asks you to. In very exceptional circumstances you may feel that sharing information with a patient would cause them serious harm and, if so, it may be appropriate to withhold it. In this context ‘serious harm’ means more than that the patient might become upset, decide to refuse treatment, or choose an alternative. This is a limited exception and you should seek legal advice if you are considering withholding information from a patient.

I certainly find this perplexing, I can't under any circumstances endorse people not being given medical records that they paid for (or were paid for on their behalf). I suppose this a clause more likely to be invoked in psychiatry than elsewhere, but it's not one I particularly want to use.

I live in Ireland.

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