Protecting Doctors from Themselves

While practicing medicine, doctors must
protect their own integrity and reputation

It is a story that we were all shocked to hear about. USA Gymnastics Medical Professional and his inappropriate conduct with his patients and others. It is situations like this that make patients either grateful for or suspicious of the doctor they have.

Reality Time

When something so dramatic and public as the USA Gymnastics situation happens, it has numerous effects:

1. Patients who are victims of such horrific acts may develop the courage to speak out and tell their story.
2. Some people will begin looking for this type of situation in their life and find it, even if it does not exist.
3. There are people who are looking for the social media spotlight and begin making accusations in order to gain attention.

What Can a Doctor Do?

It is vital that a doctor take appropriate steps to protect him or herself from a possibly career ending situation:

• Continually communicate with the patient throughout their visit. They should know what the doctor is doing and why.
• Have written policies and procedures in place that focus on harassment and inappropriate conduct within the office. These policies should also include appropriate interactions with patients. This training should include ALL staff members including doctors and be done annually as well being thoroughly documented.
• Create a culture within the healthcare office of acting professionally and being current with all compliance laws.
• Communicate with patients that if at anytime they do not feel comfortable with the doctor or other staff members, that they are welcome to have an additional person of the same gender in the room during their visit.
• If the doctor does not feel comfortable being alone with the patient, then he or she should request and additional person (e.g. nurse or physician assistant) be present during the visit.

Possible Consequences

If a doctor is accused of some inappropriate behavior with a patient, then that doctor's reputation could be irrevocably damaged. It does not matter if the accusation has any truth to it, people will remember and the damage is done. It is best for the doctor to protect him or herself and avoid even the slightest hint of inappropriate behavior.

This type of situation cannot be taken lightly. Many doctors push away training, especially HR training, as inconvenient and a time waster. They do not understand that HR and other training's are in place for their protection. Documented HR and conduct training would play a key role in protecting a doctor and the reputation of the practice.

It is completely understandable that doctors want to focus only on practicing medicine, but they do not need to put themselves and their career at risk when doing so.

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