“The doctor who treats himself has a fool for a patient.” William Osler

I'm happy for any of the health professionals to organise their own tests - we all know how difficult it can be to get a phlebotomy appointment,and even if you do, it can be very disruptive to get to surgery for an appointment.

 

I have just one rule that I impress on everyone, the request must be in "your name" and results to go to "your GP" and no-one else

 

Since being very clear about this, the number of "self-requests" we have spotted has dropped considerably

 

Yes I do do it myself, and GP very happy that I dont bother his staff given the frequency I have to have tests

 

dj

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From: Clinical biochemistry discussion list <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Gavin Murdock <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: 22 April 2019 15:59:55
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Self-requesting by Doctors

 

Surely there is a potential issue here of not having access to the patients' notes and full history. This information could change your treatment decisions. I can see why there are general guidelines against this.

 

A parallel situation exists in the lab where without clinical details or access to the patients notes, meaningful interpretation of biochemical results often can not occur.

 

Regards,

Gavin Murdock

 

On Sun, 21 Apr 2019 at 14:12, Elizabeth MacNamara, Dr. <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

I agree with you as a basic rule you should not do it. We had a professor of medicine who treated a viral infection of his eye himself and lost his eye. He trained us very well not to take care of yourself or family I am not saying it’s the best thing to do. I would never investigate or treat myself or someone close to me for those very reasons. But there are perfectly good reasons to do it and it’s not for someone in a lab to judge or block the testing. 

 

I have a niece who gets frequent cold sores. Why would I not write her a prescription for valacyclovir tablets when she knows that she is getting one. For a friend who gets recurrent UTIs why not write a request for a culture and prescribe an antibiotic? Both of them know better than anybody what is happening. If you ever had a UTI you’d want treatment fast and not wait to go to a GP. 

 

I don’t do it often as I am not their GP and do not want to be. But for a lab to decide whether I should or should not do a test, knowing nothing about the situation or why it’s done is a total waste of time and energy. If I thought I had a UTI I’d ask for a urine culture on myself. 

 

Is it any different than discussing a lab result with a family member? Maybe you shouldn’t. In truth you will as will I. 

 

Why even think about stopping a test. I see it is little more than a make work project for no benefit and possibly doing harm. 

 

Elizabeth Mac Namara. 

 

 

On Apr 21, 2019, at 03:54, Eric Kilpatrick <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

There are counter-arguments to self-testing/self-diagnosing family members, although I do not know if any are the reason the GMC prohibits it.

 

One is obviously the privacy of the family member involved. How can a full history be taken if, for example, a daughter would rather not say to their parent they are taking the OCP?

 

I also recall an ex-colleague who managed their own son’s acute illness (an illness belonging to their own speciality, I might add) where it turned out to be much more serious than they thought and the son almost died as a consequence. It taught me two things: firstly, no matter how experienced you are, you are likely to view an evolving illness differently to one that you see presenting at its usual stage; secondly, I wonder how anyone would feel if their management led to the family member not recovering when they should have?

 

So there can be ethical and clinical reasons why this might not be a good idea.

 

Eric

 

From: Clinical biochemistry discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Mohammad Al-Jubouri
Sent: Thursday, April 18, 2019 9:15 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Self-requesting by Doctors

 

I agree with you completely Elizabeth, but in the UK the GMC rules and any doctor found will risk a GMC hearing of fitness to practice.

 

BW,

 

Mohammad

 

From: Clinical biochemistry discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Elizabeth MacNamara, Dr.
Sent: 18 April 2019 18:20
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Self-requesting by Doctors

 

Regardless of guidelines doctors have a right to order tests on themselves and family if they wish. 

 

I see this as another storm in a teacup. 

 

Elizabeth Mac Namara

On Apr 18, 2019, at 13:13, Mohammad Al-Jubouri <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

GMC guidelines states that doctors should not investigate or treat themselves or their family members, this article is relevant

http://www.pulsetoday.co.uk/lmc-warning-after-gps-submit-blood-samples-under-false-names/20001401.article

 

Regards

Mohammad Al-Jubouri

On 18 Apr 2019, at 17:33, Houston, Charlie <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

Hi Mail base

Does anyone have a policy or can direct me to a regulation regarding self-requesting of lab test  by doctors  ?

 

Regards

Charlie

 

Charlie Houston MSc CSci FIBMS

Chief Biomedical Scientist

Biochemistry Department

Nobles Hospital

Strang

Isle of Man

IM4 4RJ

 

Office 01624 650661

Lab 01624 650659

 

Mobile 07624310570

[log in to unmask]

Or

[log in to unmask]

 

Isle of Man. Giving you freedom to flourish


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