In short, yes, doctor-patient confidentiality is another important fiduciary duty that doctors owe to their patients. It may also be a conflict of interest if a doctor has shares of stock in a certain medical manufacture, or receives financial kickbacks for prescribing their patients a certain brand or type of drug.For example, if the doctor developed a technique to treat patients with a certain condition, and that treatment is now marketed and sold, the doctor should be careful in always engaging in that form of treatment as they still owe their patient a duty of care in treating them in their best interest.The Duty to Avoid Conflicts of Interest: A doctor also owes their patients the duty to avoid a conflict of interest.Competency is commonly assessed by measuring what other medical professionals might do in a similar situation or under similar circumstances At a minimum, a doctor has the legal duty to stay at a baseline of competency in order to treat patients.
DEFINE BREACH OF DUTY HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONAL
This means that a doctor should receive the state and federally mandated education for their designated role, maintain their professional licensing, and stay current on available medical treatment and medications.
The Duty of Competence: Similar to the duty of care, as a medical professional, a doctor must be accredited and competent to treat their patients. In addition to those duties mentioned above, there are also additional fiduciary duties, including: What Are the Different Fiduciary Duties?Īs mentioned above, the three most common fiduciary duties are: For example, a doctor should not fraudulently diagnose a patient with a disease or disorder to allow the patient to secure certain medications. For example, a doctor should not fraudulently diagnose or treat a patient, especially in a way that would result in the patient suffering any sort of harm. Similarly, a doctor should also not be fraudulent or deceitful in their treatment of a patient. However, a doctor can also owe their patients a fiduciary duty of loyalty and a fiduciary duty of good faith.įor example, when prescribing medications to their patients, a doctor should not act in consideration of themselves, such as whether or not they will receive any kickbacks or financial advantage for prescribing a certain brand or type of medication instead a doctor should operate within their fiduciary duty of loyalty and prescribe the medication that is most advantageous for that patient. This means that when a doctor establishes a relationship with a patient and begins to diagnose or treat them, that doctor owes that patient a legal duty of care so long as that relationship exists.ĭo Doctors Have a Fiduciary Duty to Patients?Īs mentioned above, the most commonly cited fiduciary duty that a doctor owes their patients is a duty of care. The Duty of Loyalty: When a fiduciary owes a duty of loyalty, that fiduciary must act for the benefit and advantage of the beneficiary, without making any decisions that would be disadvantageous for the beneficiary.Īs far as the fiduciary duty and fiduciary relationships established in a healthcare setting, the most commonly cited fiduciary duty is the duty of care when a doctor patient relationship is established. This means that the fiduciary must not act in any fraudulent or deceitful way, to the detriment of the beneficiary and The Duty of Good Faith: When a fiduciary owes a duty of good faith, that fiduciary is tasked with the duty of acting with conscious regard for their responsibilities as a fiduciary. For example, when a physician owes a duty of care to their patients, they are expected to use and act with the same amount of care as that of other physicians in similar positions. 
The Duty of Care: When a fiduciary must act with a duty of care, that fiduciary is expected to use the amount of care that any ordinarily prudent person would exercise in a similar position, and under similar circumstances. Fiduciary duties are commonly categorized based on one of three duties that may be owed: 
One of the most important legal duties of a fiduciary is the obligation to act for the beneficiary’s benefit, not the benefit of the fiduciary. The person to whom the duty is owed is commonly referred to as either the principal or the beneficiary.
When a person has a fiduciary duty to another person, the fiduciary must conduct themselves according to the benefit of that other person. A fiduciary is an individual who has either a legal or ethical relationship of trust that they owe another party.
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