Practicing Medicine or some other special knowledge, without a license?

Question

Are Yahoo Answers and its
participants aware that there are many Q.s and A.s here, that are tantamount to practicing medicine, or law, or some other profession, without a license, based on training, credentials, and other qualifications?

Like if a guy asks what he can do for his out-of whack and painful back injury?

I doubt anyone would "get arrested", but State Licensing boards could and might file suit against Yahoo for encouraging this sort of thing, and try to get an injunction that might shut down this site, or severely restrict its content.

No One got it, so far.

1. "Disclaimers" are like putting a sign hanging around the neck of a cow, which states " I am really an elephant."

2. Yes people deserves s*hit, if they believe any other ignoramus can guide them.

3. I am talking about one'w OWN, personal and moral guidelines.

Apparently, most Yahootians don't have any.Sso for once, I won't award a "best answer". I'll leave it up to the herd,the group votes.

Jim

And, exchange of Money is also besides the point, even though it's often used as a practical guideline.

Lawyers have been SUED after they
take on cases "Pro Bono" --for no charge.

The real point is "misrepresentation". If you even SEEM to know what you're talking about, and someone Relies on that, to their detriment and chagrin,,,
Yes, Even YAHOO could have the HELL sued out of it.

It's really this: Are you telling the Truth, to the best of your ability?

Or are you willing to pass on
soe nice-looking LIE?

And, exchange of Money is also besides the point, even though it's often used as a practical guideline.

Lawyers have been SUED after they
take on cases "Pro Bono" --for no charge.

The real point is "misrepresentation". If you even SEEM to know what you're talking about, and someone Relies on that, to their detriment and chagrin,,,
Yes, Even YAHOO could have the HELL sued out of it.

It's really this: Are you telling the Truth, to the best of your ability?

Or are you willing to pass on
some nice-looking LIE?

Answer 1

I see where you're coming from, however; no one is charging money for their answers and we are all free to solicit advice from anyone we choose, as we are also free to ignore any of it.
I believe in order to be guilty of practicing law or medicine without a license, you would show intent to "practice" by contracting to provide service, and / or charge a fee for the service.
It is incumbent upon each of us to be responsible for ourselves, and if a person decides to proceed in a direction based on what some faceless, nameless, cartoon avatar says about their health or a legal matter, then they should hold themselves responsible for the outcome.
However we do live in a very litigious society, and obviously we as a society have failed to accept our personal responsibilities, based on the fact that when something goes badly, we can always find someone to sue for it.

Answer 2

Is it practicing medicine for me to tell you take an analgesic for a sore back when you are my next door neighbor. Not at all, especially if you asked the question in the first place. I see very few answers on here given in the medical realm where one of the suggestions is not to seek medical attention from a physician or specialist. It's not practicing medicine to ask advice from a friend any more than it is from a yahoo board.

There are some people who have asked about symptoms they have or have seen. It is not practicing medicine to suggest possible maladies associated with those symptoms. Otherwise no one could ever publish a home medical guide.

Now if you are telling someone to go to their local pharmacy and get a particular prescription on their say so; then I think there would be a problem. If you were meeting somone in person that you solicited from the yahoo boards to do medical procedures on then there would be a major problem. Thankfully I don't believe that has or would ever occur.

Personally, I would be more worried about HIPPA violations then I would be about anyone practicing medicine without a license.

Answer 3

This is an excellent point to bring up. It's important to realize that people have been asking for advice online for a long, long time now, and I doubt many users would use this forum as a substitute for qualified professional advice about an important matter.

However, anything is possible, so Yahoo and their attorneys have already given this some good thought. They have prepared a very comprehensive disclaimer that covers your concerns.

The gist of the disclaimer is that nothing in Yahoo Answers is a substitute for qualified professional advice, and that acting upon any suggestions found here is done so at the sole personal risk of the person following the suggestion.

So feel free to ask and answer...but act on that advice on your own risk!

Answer 4

If you look closely, you will notice that sites that allow non-credentialed responses to medical, legal questions always have a disclaimer. Readers have the right to use the information they receive in the response or to not use the information. Yahoo doesn't have control over what people post until after it is posted. Sure, they can remove it, but ultimately it is up the person who asks the question on whether they want to follow the advice or not. As for me, I don't see why people would ask serious medical or legal questions on any site that has random people answering questions. If you truly want to know about something serious, ask a professional.

Answer 5

The crazy thing is that the people asking those types of questions don't realize they might as well walk around with pad of paper in a mall somewhere & asking random strangers for medical advice about their dogs. It's essentially the same thing. Trusting that out of the thousands of people who you don't personally know who might see your question that maybe one of them might be able to give you some sensible advice. Those odds are pretty damn slim if you ask me. When my dogs are having a medical issue, guess what crazy new fangled device I pick up to help them on their way to recovery? The telephone. So I can call my Vet. Even if a person were to ask a medical question which sounds like something I have experience with my dogs I wouldn't give them an answer. Because I am not qualified to make the assessment that it is in fact the same thing & that what worked for my dogs would even be recommended for their's. Bottom line is that I wish people would just realize that owning a dog means you need to spend money on their Vet care. & that BS about how "Oh I dont have the money now. The economy. I lost my job. Blah blah" just makes me angrier. If their car broke down you better believe they'd be finding a way to fix it. But a dog with bloody urine or a dog who has been throwing up for a week? Surely they can find home remedy online! It makes me sick. Owning pets = $. End of story.

Answer 6

Nope.

As long as someone does not claim to be a doctor or a lawyer, there is no problem. There is no law against asking for advice, and anyone who would ask strangers for medical advice gets what they deserve.

Answer 7

I have a RN license and always refer people to a doctor. Anyone that would follow advise on this site for health problems has only themselves to blame.