No Stupid Questions

From the American Medical Association (and many other countries have similar guidelines): "In general, physicians should not treat themselves or members of their own families. However, it may be acceptable to do so in limited circumstances:

• In emergency settings or isolated settings where there is no other qualified physician available. In such situations, physicians should not hesitate to treat themselves or family members until another physician becomes available.
• For short-term, minor problems."

As others have pointed out, there are rules against treating family/spouse. I’d imagine there are stories of patients and clinicians falling for each other, in which case the ethical move would be to transition care to another provider as soon as possible.

Here’s the full AMA rule on dating patients that walks you through the steps in more detail:

https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/romantic-or-sexual-relationships-patients

I'm not saying this sarcastically: have you tried to apply some common sense to that scenario?

Laws probably vary state to state, country to country.

In South Africa, where I live, I knew a few people in university whose parents were doctors and wrote them prescriptions for Ritalin/Concerta or Modafinil. They did not have ADHD nor narcolepsy as far as I was aware.

They also were not willing to share. Man, fuck those guys. Sorry for the tangent.

This reminds me of a question I have about the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal. Obviously, he was in a position of power and shouldn't have had relations with an intern. But it does beg the question: can any American citizen fully consent to relationships with the active president?

The issue is power and influence, but even the president's wife is subject to a certain level of his presidential authority. So where's the line? When is it "okay" in the eyes of the power dynamic.

Most people are probably reasonable enough to say that his wife, of course, can consent. But it still does make me ponder, and there's an invisible line in the sand somewhere for most people

Where I live, doctors are discouraged (though not forbidden) to treat themselves and their family because of increased risk of misdiagnose. For example, when treating their own kids, some people tend to worry too much when their children get some fever, which lead to over medication. On the other hand, some people tend to not worry too much and not treating their kids until it's too late.

Where I live, it's allowed. But doctors are supposed to take ethics seriously (in general). They can decide. And usually they're intelligent people and able to do so.

Also, what do you do if you're living in the countryside and the only doctor around?

This is all about etics, and I'm pretty sure that no, they are not allowed to do so. It's highly unethical to give drugs and treat a family member as you won't be objective. The family member should seek help from another physician.