Have you had your flu shot?

[disneysteve]

Disneysteve, do you think a doctor would actually tell (come up with a list?) of their deviations from MSOC when asked directly? I'd think they'd be more discreet, withholding, especially if asked using such a term.

Of course they wouldn't. I was being somewhat facetious. But if my doctor gave me advice like that (to not get a flu shot), it would certainly make me question any other treatment advice he gives.

[TexasHusker]

I don't do shots. I'd rather get the flu.

[TexasHusker]

It's interesting that a doctor would do that. The very first thing a lawyer looks for when reviewing a potential malpractice claim is if the doctor deviated from the Medical Standard of Care (MSOC). Telling your patients not to get a flu shot is a blatant deviation. Any patient who later contracts the flu would have no trouble finding a lawyer to sue the doctor for negligence.

Wringer-Washer, you might want to find out in what other ways your doctor chooses to deviate from MSOC in his/her practice.

Their doctor could be a chiropractor or a doctor of some anti-western-medicine variety.

[msomnipotent]

I don't get one every year, but I got one this year and have had a weird rash ever since. Not sure if it is a coincidence and not sure if I should bother my doctor about it, but it reminds me of the rash I had when I had fifth disease. And my daughter got sick right after getting her shot (from a different place) and just went back to school. Again, could be a coincidence. We don't normally get sick from the vaccination.

I know the shot doesn't cover every form of the flu, but I'm glad I got it when everyone was in an uproar about getting one and there was a shortage several years ago. My Rheumatologist was on my back about getting it that year, so I made a special effort to get my family vaccinated. His side of the family got extremely sick with the flu starting on Christmas, and we didn't get sick at all. I'm assuming they spread the germs around at our Christmas Eve get together, so I was pretty pleased with myself for getting the shot.

[disneysteve]

Their doctor could be a chiropractor or a doctor of some anti-western-medicine variety.

They said "family physician" so not a chiropractor but you're right that it could be a non-Western practitioner. I hadn't thought of that.

MSOC refers to what a competent provider with a similar background would do so the herbalist, for example, would be compared to other herbalists, not to Western physicians.

[Wringer-Washer]

It's interesting that a doctor would do that. The very first thing a lawyer looks for when reviewing a potential malpractice claim is if the doctor deviated from the Medical Standard of Care (MSOC). Telling your patients not to get a flu shot is a blatant deviation. Any patient who later contracts the flu would have no trouble finding a lawyer to sue the doctor for negligence.

Wringer-Washer, you might want to find out in what other ways your doctor chooses to deviate from MSOC in his/her practice.

I appreciate your thoughts on such.

We've had the same family doctor for three decades now, and while I trust his advice and medical direction (overall), there are many things I question in the medical field, regardless of good doctors or bad ones.

Possibly, things are different between the United States and Canada, when it comes to general medical advice, etc.

[msomnipotent]

I don't do shots. I'd rather get the flu.

I'm used to needles. I have to stick myself once a week and get all sorts of lab tests during the year. But I'm a big baby when it comes to being sick. I make my family wear gloves whenever they are sick and sometimes a face mask just to avoid their germs.

[disneysteve]

Possibly, things are different between the United States and Canada, when it comes to general medical advice, etc.

I'm sure. The malpractice landscape is probably quite different.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

TexasHusker, if you would prefer to get vaccinated but are simply unable to put up with needles, there may be other options. I'm going to sound like a commercial and say, "Ask your doctor if non-needle vaccination is right for you."

[greenskeeper]

My employer offers them for free, but I decline the shot every year.

[Wringer-Washer]

I'm sure. The malpractice landscape is probably quite different.

It's a strong claim to refer to a doctors advice as to what he/she deems as being the best for his or her patient as falling under the guise of malpractice.

I see it as strictly doctor/patient advice. Speaking for myself I can only hope physicians are relying on medical affirmation when they extend such.

From all that I see, medical information and advice is anything but perfect, but as patients we can only hope our physicians are looking out for our best interests.

[creditcardfree]

Someone as smart as you should know that it's all about the dosage.

That being said... http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056...1204#t=article
vaccinating schoolchildren is an effective way to reduce the chance of everyone else getting the flu.

Sorry you don't know me. You don't know what I have or haven't read, have or haven't experienced or how I came to my conclusions. I think I have the right to choose what is put into my body.

[disneysteve]

It's a strong claim to refer to a doctors advice as to what he/she deems as being the best for his or her patient as falling under the guise of malpractice.

It's not malpractice to give faulty advice. It could be malpractice when a patient suffers harm as a result of that advice if the court deems that the advice deviated from MSOC.

If I tell a patient they don't need high blood pressure medicine and they later have a stroke, I could be held liable for that because MSOC is to treat high blood pressure with medication.

If I tell a patient they don't need a flu shot and they later get the flu and pneumonia, I could be held liable for that because MSOC is to give the flu vaccine to all patients 6mo of age and older.

That's the only point I was trying to make here. I'm sure your doctor believes his advice is good, but that wouldn't protect him if he got sued. I don't know how the malpractice system works in Canada though. I'm only talking about US policy.

[Wringer-Washer]

It's not malpractice to give faulty advice. It could be malpractice when a patient suffers harm as a result of that advice if the court deems that the advice deviated from MSOC.

If I tell a patient they don't need high blood pressure medicine and they later have a stroke, I could be held liable for that because MSOC is to treat high blood pressure with medication.

If I tell a patient they don't need a flu shot and they later get the flu and pneumonia, I could be held liable for that because MSOC is to give the flu vaccine to all patients 6mo of age and older.

That's the only point I was trying to make here. I'm sure your doctor believes his advice is good, but that wouldn't protect him if he got sued. I don't know how the malpractice system works in Canada though. I'm only talking about US policy.

Hi, DisneySteve. First things first, please don't take my last reply to you as being short or snippy. It's just so darned hard to relay a friendly sense at times through typed text. I apologize to you if I failed in living up to such.

You make many great points and I agree with them. One thing I've taken notice of here in Canada, is the lack of cases where physicians are held accountable and liable. Seems here in our country everything is swept under the table. Family and loved ones are left without, while physicians carry on with impunity.

[JoeP]

disneysteve, can you please clear something up? When people say they had the flu, but they admit it wasn't actually confirmed by a doctor, could this skew the perception that the flu is more common than it actually is?

I ask because I know several people I know get the shot because they claim they had the flu, but when pressed on the subject, they admit they never went to the doctor for a medical diagnosis that includes lab work. But in their minds, they "had the flu" and end up getting the shot.