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Medical Etiquette and Medical Ethics

Voluntary duties of a medical practitioner

These relate to :

• Responsibility to patients: implied contract
  • to continue to treat
  • reasonable care
  • reasonable skill
  • keep professional secrets inviolate except under privileged circumstances
  • not undertaking procedure beyond skill
  • special precaution to be taken in case of children and adults not capable of taking care of themselves, e.g., when applying hot water bottles
  • special precaution in respect of dangerous drugs and poisons
  • consultation with another colleague under certain circumstances
  • keeping abreast of certain advances in the field.
• Medical examination-
  • consent taken
  • result kept secret
  • laboratory aids utilized when necessary
  • X-rays taken in all cases of accident unless trivial.
• Operations-
  • a)consent taken
  • nature, extent and risks explained
  • precaution taken not to operate on wrong patient or wrong part
  • precaution taken for the safety if the patient by ensuring fitness for anaesthesia, check of count as regards sponges, needles and instruments and postoperative care
  • no experimentation.
• Issuing of certificates- illness, vaccination, death and for insurance, compensation, cremation etc. The data mentioned in the certificate must be true to the best of doctor's knowledge and belief.
• Prison and Reformatories-
  • certifying to facts regarding pregnancy
  • checking diet
  • inspection of lavatories.
• Medicolegal examination and certificates-
  • proper authorization
  • identification
  • verification of the facts, e.g., in mental illness certificates
  • material preserved when necessary, eg, in case of poisoning, drunkenness
  • laboratory aid utilized, e.g., X-ray, microscopy, histopathology, antibody testing
  • certificates used promptly
  • all details given
  • copy preserved.
• Postmortem examination-
  • for scientific purposes and only after obtaining consent
  • not to be undertaken in medicolegal cases without proper authorization.
• Sending pathological material by post- precaution to be taken to prevent the spread of disease.
• Attending to accidents- A physician has an absolute right to select his patients. The physician who responds in an emergency, such as traffic accidents is expected to exercise a reasonable prudent physician's standard of care and offer that much help that is possible under the circumstances. Normally first aid is rendered and the victim referred to his physician or hospital.