Why don't we see answers from doctors?

Question

There are so many medical questions. You never see an answer that says, "Trust me, I'm a doctor". Is that because it would be unethical? Is it because they take a rest from doctoring in the evenings? Are there in fact any doctors on here? (No, I don't need one - just interested).

Answer 1

If anyone acting in a professional capacity include information that is misleading or is misrepresentative, they can be sued for negligence.

Answer 2

I was in your situation many times before. I come from a christian home and so I know that pornography is wrong according to the bible. Some say that Masturbation is wrong but it really is it; it's actually healthy for humans since we do have sexual urges. God did create these and in the bible God did not saying anything about Masturbation being bad. I also do look at pornography too and even though I know it is wrong in the Bible I can't help but look at it. I just got to the point where I don't let my sex life and my christianity get mixed up in each other. It's way to complicated. Do what you want to do; it's your life and God allows you to have free will.

Answer 3

Doctors don't answer questions on here for a few reasons including but not limited to:

They have work to do and when they are not working I doubt that they want to spend time on Yahoo Answers!

They do not give medical advise or diagnose problems for people on here because they really can't see the patient and check their physical state. They don't want to make things worse by giving the worng advise.

I feel it's important to realize that anyone can be anyone they want to on here and even if they say they are a Dr. I would not believe it and would take anything they say based upon that fact.

Answer 4

Probably because it is their job and answering questions on the internet would be like doing free overtime. Not only that, if anyone had a real problem they should be consulting their own GP. Anyone on the net could give bad advise and a simple symptom could turn into a major or even dangerous situation if the asker does not go through the right channels. Ps anyone could say "Trust me, I'm a Doctor!"

Answer 5

Although you will hear them complain about things like ethics and liability, there are no laws forbidding doctors from providing free advice on generic matters of a medical nature. It would be unwise and unethical and possibly dangerous for physicians to give counsel in situations that are vague or complicated.

Believe it or not, the vast majority of doctors are highly motivated by money, and lots of it. Why should the average doctor in the U.S., who makes nearly $200,000 a year, do something for free when s/he can make so much money dispensing the same advice from his/her office?

The real problem here is that there is an artificial shortage of medical professionals in the U.S., which allows them to charge extremely high fees for their work. Whereas less-educated people in this country (say, roofers and cooks and gardeners) have to compete not only with their peers but immigrants (legal and not) for the same jobs, which lowers wages, doctors are legally protected from competition by strict laws preventing foreign-trained physicians from practicing in the U.S. There is no compelling argument for this, because many other countries have lower per-capita medical expenditures, more docs per capita, lower physician wages, and, healthier, longer-lived populations than the U.S.

[I'm on a tangent, and on a roll here, so stop reading if you're bored]. Nurses achieved some real gains in wages and workplace status in the 80s to the present by creating a shortage of nurses. For the past 25 years, nursing schools have deliberately restricted admissions and graduations to reduce the number of nurses. The result is that nurses now command wages of $30 to $50 per hour, and more in some locations, and they have far better working conditions than nurses did 40 years ago.

However, hospital lobbying groups have started pestering the government to allow for increased numbers of H-1B and other types of visas for everything from nurses aides to RNs. They claim there is a critical shortage of nurses in the U.S., and the only way to fix it is to allow more foreign workers. The real story here is that hospitals want cheaper nurses and more control over nurses' schedules and working conditions. Why don't lobbyists beg for foreign doctors? Good question.

The short answer to your question is that most physicians are too busy making oodles of cash to bother answering anybody's questions for free. It would make them see cheap. I'd make an allusion to prostitutes giving it away for free, but that would make me seem cheap.

Answer 6

I agree with Donna M I also have seen answers from doctors and dentist I would think also they would answer saying have been in this for so many years without giving a diagnoses as that would not be ethical it's just an opinion

Answer 7

Because anyone can say they're a doctor, and also hopefully with all their money, doctors actually have lives and don't have to be on Yahoo Answers 24/7,

Answer 8

Medical advice based on the limited information provided in questions in this site might be wrong and if someone acted on it, knowing the advice came from a doctor and suffered deterioration or otherwise, could give rise to litigation- the doctor could be sued.

Answer 9

Doctors have an extensive schedule and probably have much better things to do then log onto "Yahoo Answers" when you work 70 hours a week you have much better things to do with your free time.

Its an opinion anyway :)

Answer 10

I've seen doctors answering questions on here - and quite a lot of dentists too.