Conflict-of-Interest.net

Here’s an interesting question: if your MD sleeps with your partner, is the MD in a COI? GP claims ‘no conflict of interest’ over affair with patient’s wife

This story, not surprisingly, has been receiving a lot of press attention over the last few days. The GP in question did something that one might consider immoral (engaging in affair, and possibly breaking a trust with his patient), and while there’s no evidence in the story that the GP’s judgment was in fact affected (e.g., providing inappropriate care to the patient), one can certainly understand the challenge from the patiet that it might be affected (an apparent or potential COI). Its clearly unprofessional to sleep with one’s patients, and maybe also by extension, with their spouses?

In a follow-up to this story, it was ruled Feb 6 that there was “No conflict of interest” over GP’s affair with patient’s wife.

My friend and colleague, Dr. Wayne Norman, professor in philosophy at Duke University, has a cool piece about the change in institutional currently happening in the White House: Honor and conflicts in the new age of ethics. See also a blog entry by Chris MacDonald, Modern Ethics: More Than Personal Integrity.