Contact with Doctor outside Surgery

Gael23

The title is not exactly what this means but the closest I can get.

I posted here a few months ago that my GP who I got on really well with was leaving and wasn't really sure what to do.
Now its happened that I had a chance meeting with one of the other Doctors who knew that we had a fairly strong relationship and she would also know some of my medical history which really led to us having such a old relationship.
She is now going to try and put us in touch with each other via email. I have given her mine to pass on so its al up to him weather he gets back to me or not.

What I want to know is assuming he does, and she is confident he will, is how should I manage this? Ive never been in a position where a professional relationship has come more personal and I don want to cause difficulty for him as a professional. To be honest most of any communication with him will be relating to my medical condition which he helped me so much with.

Xeyn

It's unclear whether you mean to pursue a personal/romantic relationship with this GP as you state 'most' will be related to your medical condition.
My advice would be to pursue wholly one way or the other - either completely professional or completely personal (ie exclude any medical issues)
If you want him as your GP it's not advisable to maintain a close personal relationship (romantic or not) as bias and objectivity can cloud judgement.
If I have picked up on your intent wrong I wouldn't worry if I was you simply write to him stating that due to your past experience you would very much like to become a patient of his as you feel it would be of most benefit to you.
He may or may not take you on depending on his patient lists.

Gael23

He was my GP for the last couple of years but he has moved to a different city for his own personal reasons. So it's not possible for him to be my doctor anymore.
Really my reason to want to make this work is that he has supported my through some treatment which isn't fully finished yet and I want him to know the outcome as well as be able to talk to him about how it's going.
I felt I had a really strong "connection" with him and trusted him a lot so I would like to continue that in some capacity.
I know I was a patient to him and he may see it differently but that's how I feel. I don't want to go as far as saying it s going to be a sort of friendship because it probably won't go quite that far but more me having personal contact with someone I trust that used to know me professionally.

Xeyn

A generalisation, but GP's tend to form much closer relationships with their patients than hospital doctors (like myself) and those relationships can sometimes go on to become friendships (of a casual nature). If he is no longer your GP then I don't see why you couldn't pursue a friendship of any description. Of course he may feel differently but id be surprised if he wouldn't geniunely be interested in how you are getting on.
Maybe simply write to him stating exactly that, that you would like him to know how you were doing and take it from there.

Edit: not sure if this falls under discussion of personal issues as I don't see any medico legal problems here.

Gael23

Xeyn wrote: »

A generalisation, but GP's tend to form much closer relationships with their patients than hospital doctors (like myself) and those relationships can sometimes go on to become friendships (of a casual nature). If he is no longer your GP then I don't see why you couldn't pursue a friendship of any description. Of course he may feel differently but id be surprised if he wouldn't geniunely be interested in how you are getting on.
Maybe simply write to him stating exactly that, that you would like him to know how you were doing and take it from there.

Edit: not sure if this falls under discussion of personal issues as I don't see any medico legal problems here.

We really only developed such a strong relationship since just over a year ago, but obviously as he was treating me, it was always within professional boundaries. He's put a lot of work into me over the past year, he made phone calls to consultants for advice on how to help me rather than me going to see them in the usual manner and followed up with me every month or 2 or whatever we agreed.
Its been 2 days now since I passed on my details and he still hasn't contacted me but who knows he still might. If he does I think i'll just stress to him that I don't want to cause difficulties for him and this goes as far as he is comfortable with.
On the other hand I'm aware that he saw lots of patients every day and maybe I was just one more, but I never felt like that. He always had all the time in the world for me and really wanted to help as much as possible
Im not sure if this belongs here either but I thought that Doctors like yourself that post here might be able to offer advice on it.

Oops69

Write to him to let him know how you are getting on , thank him for his care in the past and if you're not in a position to continue the professional doctor- patient relationship leave it at that and build another doctor patient relationship with your new gp.

Gael23

Oops69 wrote: »

Write to him to let him know how you are getting on , thank him for his care in the past and if you're not in a position to continue the professional doctor- patient relationship leave it at that and build another doctor patient relationship with your new gp.

I probably should have asked to see if it's ok for them to give his email to me, I understood that my details were going to be passed on to him.
If we get in touch I'll first see what he's comfortable with and take it from there. If it's a case as you say just to get to the end of this for 2 or 3 months then I have to understand that.
I'll have to find a new GP but to be honest I don't think I'll ever want to build such a strong relationship again. Obviously you have to to an extent but not like what I had up to now.

Gael23

Decided I will just do what oops 69 said if he does. Wont do me any favours to take it any further

marko747

Hi Op, just wondering how did it go? Did GP get back to you? From reading your posts, I do wonder if you over read into the "relationship" between you and your GP? I do think, from the Gp point of view, it was a wholly profesional relationship. I do wonder did your discussions ever range into more personal? The GP might just have wanted the best medical outcome for you as his patient, not as a person. Yes, granted, they may have liked you as a person, but I don't think it was ever more. A GP, in a manner similar to a teacher, has ethics and I don't think the Hippocratic oath allows them to form personal relationships with patients. Perhaps now that they are no longer your doctor, maybe more will blossom? So, OP, did they respond?

Gael23

marko747 wrote: »

Hi Op, just wondering how did it go? Did GP get back to you? From reading your posts, I do wonder if you over read into the "relationship" between you and your GP? I do think, from the Gp point of view, it was a wholly profesional relationship. I do wonder did your discussions ever range into more personal? The GP might just have wanted the best medical outcome for you as his patient, not as a person. Yes, granted, they may have liked you as a person, but I don't think it was ever more. A GP, in a manner similar to a teacher, has ethics and I don't think the Hippocratic oath allows them to form personal relationships with patients. Perhaps now that they are no longer your doctor, maybe more will blossom? So, OP, did they respond?

No he hasn't done but I can't even be sure my details actually got to him.
I think your probably right from his point of view but I suppose to me on the other side I saw him doing more than he needed to so he could help me and tree my condition as best he could, over the years Doctors have just given me prescriptions as I needed them, but he took it that one step further and changed my medicines to ones which he felt would be better and he was right.
I don't think they take the hippocratic oath anymore, its all down to ethics laid out by the medical council. I myself thought it would be crossing a line but we don't have a doctor-patient relationship anymore so from an ethical point of view that makes thinks a little different

L1011

marko747 wrote: »

I don't think the Hippocratic oath allows them to form personal relationships with patients

The bulk of doctors in Ireland have never taken the Hippocratic Oath. I believe there's a Hippocratic Society of doctors who do take it and also the Catholic Doctors Association appear to encourage it (but they also encourage refusing to prescribe the Pill!)

RobFowl

MYOB wrote: »

The bulk of doctors in Ireland have never taken the Hippocratic Oath. I believe there's a Hippocratic Society of doctors who do take it and also the Catholic Doctors Association appear to encourage it (but they also encourage refusing to prescribe the Pill!)

I graduated from UCD (a few years ago :rolleyes:) and it wasn't offered to or taken by any of us on qualification.
It's not a common topic of conversation but I'm not aware of any Irish qualified doctors who actually taken it.

Gael23

RobFowl wrote: »

I graduated from UCD (a few years ago :rolleyes:) and it wasn't offered to or taken by any of us on qualification.
It's not a common topic of conversation but I'm not aware of any Irish qualified doctors who actually taken it.

Isn't there similarities between parts of it and the ethical guidelines set out by the medical council?

Icemancometh

ryanf1 wrote: »

Isn't there similarities between parts of it and the ethical guidelines set out by the medical council?

I certainly don't plan to cut for stone, nor seduce any slaves.

marko747

I do think the oath has become outdated, my mistake, but ethical guide of irish medical council is perhaps more appropriate. I assume GP's are bound by this? Not sure of impact upon OP

RobFowl

ryanf1 wrote: »

Isn't there similarities between parts of it and the ethical guidelines set out by the medical council?

marko747 wrote: »

I do think the oath has become outdated, my mistake, but ethical guide of irish medical council is perhaps more appropriate. I assume GP's are bound by this? Not sure of impact upon OP

The ethical guide from the medical council is similar in general to the thrust of the Hippocratic oath. It isn't something you make an official oath on though and some of it is guidelines rather than hard and fast rules.
It something that is being constantly revised and to give them credit it's a well thought out and thorough document.

exgp

RobFowl wrote: »

The ethical guide from the medical council is similar in general to the thrust of the Hippocratic oath. It isn't something you make an official oath on though and some of it is guidelines rather than hard and fast rules.
It something that is being constantly revised and to give them credit it's a well thought out and thorough document.

My understanding as to why the Hippocratic oath is not taken in Ireland is that it involves swearing to various gods and goddesses and was therefore thought in some way to be anti-Catholic. The Medical Council's ethical guidelines cover everything, and more, that is covered in the oath.

RobFowl

exgp wrote: »

My understanding as to why the Hippocratic oath is not taken in Ireland is that it involves swearing to various gods and goddesses and was therefore thought in some way to be anti-Catholic. The Medical Council's ethical guidelines cover everything, and more, that is covered in the oath.

I know I didn't take it (none of my class did or were offered the chance).

As you suggest its hard to be 100% serious about an oath that starts off with "I swear by Apollo the physician....."

EoghanIRL

I thought there was a modern version now .

Gael23

EoghanIRL wrote: »

I thought there was a modern version now .

I know there are fairly strong Confidentiality and Professional Conduct rules set out by the Medical Council but there isn't an oath in Ireland.