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Do you have a doctor in the family? Know a friend who carries a prescription pad in her purse? Most people know somebody who has the training and expertise to diagnose illness and prescribe medication.
It’s fairly common to seek medical advice while playing 18 holes on the golf course, sitting next to someone on an airplane, or drinking cocktails at a party. Social activities strip away the veneer of formality and make doctors seem more approachable. When people are disinhibited they are more likely to share their medical concerns and ask questions.
But did you know that if your friend or family member writes a prescription for you, or himself or herself, they could get into big legal and professional trouble?
They can … so don’t ask them to do it!
As a psychiatrist, I often find myself being asked one of 2 questions in social settings. “Are you analyzing me?” – that’s my favorite. Usually followed by, “Can you write me a script for … (fill in the blank)?”
To clear up any misconceptions, the answer is “No!”
Doctors go into the business to help people, and we pride ourselves on doing just that. It’s gratifying to be sought out for help from our loved ones and friends. Although this is flattering it is also uncomfortable.
Physicians have been successfully sued and stricken from medical boards for what the industry refers to as “casual prescribing.” When it comes to making sound decisions for people we know on a personal level, the circumstances are bound to interfere with objectivity and ethical principles.
Don’t ask your friend or family member to casually make a diagnosis or write you a script. Imagine this scenario. You are out golfing with a buddy and mention to your friend, who happens to be a doctor, that you’ve been having some stress at work, feel down, and wondered if he might write a script to get you started on an antidepressant. After all, it’s going to take a few months to get an office appointment with a psychiatrist.
First of all, do you really want your friend delving into awkward and sensitive matters like your substance use or sexual drive, to name a couple, while you’re rounding the back nine? Let’s assume for a minute that you do, and your friend actually writes you a script. By the time you make it into a physician’s office, you’re told that you now have late stage pancreatic cancer that probably manifested months ago as depression. You now sue your friend for malpractice because he failed to properly work-up your symptoms. You probably win the suit, but your friendship and health are destroyed, as is your “friend’s” career.
This was a dramatic example, but hopefully drives home the point.
The American Medical Association, British Medical Association, and Canadian Medical Association have all formally discouraged physicians from prescribing for themselves, family members or friends.
“Casual prescribing” is reckless and dangerous. MD’s should not diagnose or treat themselves, or anyone outside of their practice. Keep social encounters with your friends and family just that, and make sure you take medical concerns to your treating physician.
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