Family medicine physicians have differing views on several medical dilemmas, including vaccinations, harassment and physician-assisted suicide, according to a Feb. 3 Medscape survey of over 4,100 practicing physicians.
How family medicine physicians feel about 10 dilemmas:
1. Forty-nine percent believe physicians should speak out if employers are not offering them needed resources.
2. Fifty-eight percent believe that physicians should be required to get flu vaccines.
3. Forty-four percent believe that physician-assisted suicide should be an option for terminally ill patients, while 37 percent believe it should not, and 19 percent believe it is situational.
4. Seventy-nine percent would reveal a harmful medical mistake to a patient, while 20 percent believe it depends.
5. Fifty-four percent believe that a romantic relationship with a patient is never acceptable.
6. Seventy-five percent would report a colleague for sexual harassment or bullying, while 19 percent believe the matter is situational.
7. Fifty-three percent would report a colleague for racist remarks, while 30 percent believe it situational.
8. Seven percent believe it is acceptable to overstate a patient's condition to insurance.
9. Forty-nine percent believe a breach in patient confidentiality is acceptable if someone's health is threatened.
10. Eighty-one percent believe family medicine physicians should speak out against COVID-19 misinformation.