Free speech is one of our bedrock constitutional rights. The debate and battle of what constitutes lawful free speech are ongoing. Leaving aside the law, physicians have always enjoyed free speech in the offices. We ask our patients questions of the most private and intimate nature. And, they answer us. We ask such questions because, under appropriate circumstances, we need the information in order to provide our best medical advice. We ask about specific sexual practices.
We ask about prior or current substance abuse. We ask if patients are alcoholics. We ask if patients are suffering from abuse or neglect. While we may not invariably receive truthful responses from these inquiries, often we do. Patients trust us to respect their confidentiality, which has been embedded into medical culture and practice since the time of Hippocrates. But apart from physician-patient interactions, do we…
