Treating Family: Liability, Ethics, and Professionalism A physician-patient relationship exists solely for the patient’s benefit. The very first code of medical ethics drafted by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 1847 recommended against physicians treating family members, stating, “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.” In addition to the current AMA code of ethics, several major medical professional associations generally discourage the provision of medical care for family members. March 12, 2024 Practice Management, RCMA, Resources, Risk Management 0 0 Comment Read More »
