Medical advice
Medical advice is the provision of a formal professional opinion regarding what a specific individual should or should not do to restore or preserve health.{{Cite book|title = Legal and Ethical Aspects of Health Information Management|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Pw-dBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA164|publisher = Cengage Learning|date = 2014-12-31|isbn = 9781305686328|language = en|first = Dana|last = McWay|pages = 164, 430}} Typically, medical advice involves giving a diagnosis and/or prescribing a treatment for medical condition.[http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?mode=View%20Statutes&SubMenu=1&App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=practicing+medicine&URL=CH0458/Sec305.HTM Florida state statute]
Medical advice can be distinguished from personal advice, even if the advice concerns medical care.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Doctor–patient relationship
In industrializd countries, medical advice is given in the context of a doctor–patient relationship.{{cn|date=May 2025}} A licensed health care professional can be held legally liable for the advice he or she gives to a patient. Giving bad advice may be considered medical malpractice under specified circumstances.
The doctor–patient relationship is one factor in determining the patient's compliance with medical advice.{{Cite book|title = Health Psychology: An Introduction to Behavior and Health|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=NfCDR_Yl7f0C|publisher = Cengage Learning|date = 2009-03-19|isbn = 978-0495601326|language = en|first1 = Linda|last1 = Brannon|first2 = Jess|last2 = Feist|pages = 86–88}} Patients adhere more closely to medical advice when the healthcare provider is friendly, doesn't interrupt the patient, or has good verbal communication skills.{{Cite web|url=https://www.healthecareers.com/article/career/8-vital-traits-every-allied-health-professional-should-have|title=8 Vital Traits Every Allied Health Professional Should Have|last=eCareers|first=Health|website=www.healthecareers.com|language=en|access-date=2017-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170322015822/https://www.healthecareers.com/article/career/8-vital-traits-every-allied-health-professional-should-have|archive-date=2017-03-22|url-status=dead}} Patients are less likely to comply with medical advice if the advice is not what the patients expected, if the patients do not agree with the proposed treatment, if the patient is not confident in the provider's competence, or if the patient cannot understand what the provider says due to language barriers or overuse of medical jargon. Patients are also less likely to comply with medical advice if the healthcare provider seems disrespectful of the patient or appears to hold negative stereotypes of the patients' race, class, or other characteristics.{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/26/health/doctors-discrimination-racism/index.html|title=Racism in medicine: An 'open secret'|author=Jacqueline Howard|website=CNN|date=26 October 2016 |access-date=2017-03-21}}
Difference to medical information
Medical advice can be distinguished from medical information, which is the relation of facts.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
Medical information pertaining to an individual is called protected health information.
Discussing medical information is considered a fundamental free speech right and is not considered medical advice.{{cn|date=May 2025}}
See also
References
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