While OT, maybe we can accept a thread on this topic because of the insight it might provide into the medical ethics behind this topic.
Especially right now when politics and attendant campaign activities are dominating the country.
(Disclaimer: not advocating any particular candidate or position here, of course, just some (hopefully) objective observations on how the AMA thinks doctors should handle political advertising situations that can come up in their practices).
For example, have you ever walked into a doctor's office building while noticing campaign signs on the front lawn urging you to vote for John Smith for senator, or to vote "yes" on Amendment so-and-so? (Especially when Amendment so-and-so is advocating a position favorable to doctors and their practices?). Or entered a doctor's office and immediately saw poster-ads on the walls advocating the same?
Chances are that you haven't, because the AMA considers it unethical for doctors to do so.
Of course as citizens doctors, like the rest of us, are entitled to their own political opinions.
But the AMA maintains that overt political advertising on the part of doctors is an inappropriate arena for doctors to push for a political candidate or position that they personally find appealing.
To gather more on this topic, I first consulted my default general-purpose information source, Copilot:
Q:why do we never see political campaign signs in front of or inside hospitals, clinics, doctor offices, etc.?
A:Political campaign signs are often restricted in certain areas, including hospitals, due to regulations aimed at maintaining a neutral and professional environment. These restrictions help ensure that healthcare facilities remain focused on patient care without the distraction or potential conflict that political signage might bring. Additionally, many hospitals have policies that prohibit any form of solicitation or advertising on their premises to maintain a calm and respectful atmosphere for patients and visitors."I then searched AMA's website for its official position on this question, and found (both of the following are short reads) :
AMA's "Code of Medical Ethics" position on doctors talking or advocating politics with their patients:
https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/political-communicationsand
"Political Action by Physicians"
https://code-medical-ethics.ama-assn.org/ethics-opinions/political-action-physiciansFinally, I came across, also on the AMA website, a hypothetical discussion, along with two commentaries, on how political discussion between doctors and patient in the exam room may be inappropriate:
(It's presented as a debate between two doctors in an office, one in favor of on-premisses political advertising, the other opposed).
commentary 1:
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/campaign-posters-clinic-commentary-1/2004-01commentary 2:
https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/campaign-posters-clinic-commentary-2/2004-01Highlights:
"No matter how well a patient and physician know each other or how comfortable they are with one another, the unequal and privileged nature of the relationship obliges the physician to restrain the expression of personal views. Otherwise a patient may sense an expectation, even in the absence of overt stated pressure, to adhere to the physician's point of view ... This pressure can distort the patient and physician's therapeutic alliance."
"Trust is an essential part of the patient-physician relationship. Patients need to be confident that their physicians will render medical judgments on the basis of medical science and the best interests of the patient (as an informed and autonomous patient would judge those interests). A reasonable expectation is that physicians will not allow their personal values (eg, religious or political) to contaminate the professional and objective medical judgments patients seek."
"How many of us would like to see medical offices become the clone of "talk radio"?Incidentally, something of interest I also found while researching this topic:
" ... political yard sign laws, by state":
https://www.supercheapsigns.com/blog/state-by-state-guide-to-political-yard-sign-laws-2024/Interestingly, I located articles about
the inverse of all this, namely, when a patient in the exam room with his doctor, is individually consumed with political issues, and talks and talks about
politics and politicians, while the doctor presumably just has to sit there, smiling politely as the patient rambles on, while trying to redirect the conversation back to medical issues.
So it can be a two-way street, I guess.
(Google
talkative patients
for interesting articles about
this. An interesting point made in several of them is that while some people are hyper-talkative to begin with, others who normally are not become so in the exam room as a defense mechanism for their nervousness in being there).
But the doctor for his part remains ethically bound to maintain a medically relevant environment, hopefully to the benefit of all.