Doctors
in Public : Dr. Anil Neelakantan
(
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Well,
I think we would have to be prudent while disclosing
our identity as doctors in a public place. It would
be better to evaluate the scenario and judge whether
we could handle the situation before diving headlong.
I have read about an incident in the US where a guy
had an MI while sitting in a park. There was a doc
near him and he found that there was no pulse and
attempted resuscitation after calling 911. He had
passed away by the time the helicopter loaded with
paramedics arrived. The family sued this doc for not
providing "adequate" emergency care. Though
the case was quashed by the court for lack of substantial
evidence of medical negligence, I feel sorry for that
doc who had to go through a lot of trouble for just
trying to help someone out. But we should also keep
in mind that it is definitely illegal to cover up
the fact that we are docs in an emergency. So we have
to use our discrimination. If we can help someone
out we should. But at the same time we should protect
ourselves from any possible damage that could result.
If we are caught in the midst of an emergency, it
would be wise (both on humanitarian and legal grounds)
to disclose our identity and explain that we are not
experts but would try our best (even though it may
not be good enough) till better medical care is available.
If the situation is not an emergency we should decide
depending on several factors like how close he/she
is to you, his/her receptiveness to your advice etc.
We definitely cannot force someone to do something.
But can persuade them till we feel that we would not
have a prick of conscience for not giving it a try.
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