Q: If a physician instucts a patient to transition from one currently prescribed medication
And take a medication that is completely contraindacated per the Prescribers Guide, and refuses to prescribe any different medication that is for a legitimate medical NEED, is he/she responsible for damages that result unquestionably from the instructing and prescribing of given specific medication? The physician mislead the patient into thinking that the medication that he/she was transitioning to was a much better option for symptom management. This did result into a highly life threatining medical state that required immediate medical attention. The patient persisted in not transitioning for fear of this very thing happening and vocalized this before and during the transition profusely, stating that he/she was highly uncomfortable with this attempt. The patient has now been abandoned by the physician, not legally prescribing what the patient has the right to. The patient lives in TN.
A: Under Tennessee law, doctors are considered the gatekeepers for making good medical decisions about prescribing appropriate medication. To be malpractice, a doctor must act in a way that falls below the generally accepted minimum standards for practice in that area of medicine in that community. The best way to make that determination is to seek treatment with a different doctor, and ask the doctor whether a mistake has been made. In the eyes of the law, almost having an injury is like almost having a case - in order to violate the law, the actions of the doctor must actually cause injury. Based on the conflict that arose between the doctor and the patient, it is not surprising that the doctor elected to stop seeing the patient. Seeking appropriate medical treatment with other professionals will greatly assist with determining whether any medical standard was violated. Unfortunately, laws in place provide that bad medicine does not always equate to malpractice.
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