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IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER
When Asking Medical Questions
The doctors and other medical professionals welcome your medical questions and will do their best to answer them. It is VERY important you understand a few things before asking a question that might effect your health care decisions:
MOST IMPORTANT - This forum does not replace the need for you to visit with your doctor!
- OBGYN.net Discussion Forums are public forums and everyone reads your question. All messages posted to the forums will be archived and available to anyone with Internet access and will be accessible via third party Internet search (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, etc.)
- Remember that discussions in this forum are open to anyone. Don't mention anything which could embarrass yourself. More importantly please respect the confidentiality of third parties. A man discussing the personal medical details of his partner without her knowledge and agreement would breach her confidentiality in the same way as a doctor discussing a patient in public.
- Do not treat advice given on this forum as a formal medical consultation - see your doctor.
- There is no guarantee that the person answering your question is qualified to answer any medical question. Just because they claim to be an authority does not mean they are a certified health care practitioner. Anyone can join this forum and represent them self as having qualifications and credentials they do not have, or being someone they are not.
- Advice can only be based on what the responder has been told.
- It is NOT likely that a medical professional will comment on the actions of another.
- Physicians will not prescribe medication through this forum.
- Medical professionals do not have the benefit of your medical history, a visual examination, or a physical examination. This limits what they can offer as advice.
- You may find differing opinions from those that respond. Medicine is not an exact, or perfect science. Medical professionals make decisions based on their training, the advice of their peers, years of experience, and the facts that are presented.
- Advice given to others may not be appropriate for YOU. Even if your circumstances are only slightly different.
The best use of this forum, for medical advice, is to ask questions that are informative yet do not directly impact your health condition. Your questions should focus on areas such as:
- Information about a specific condition or disease - not diagnosis of your condition
- Referrals to hard to find specialists
- Referrals to support groups
- Information about a procedure
- Information about research discoveries or claims you have read about
- Information about healthy life style choices
- Information about early detection of cancer and other conditions
You should not ask questions like:
- Can you tell me what condition I have?
- Why did my doctor do this?
- Was my doctor correct?
- What is the best treatment for my condition?
- What dosage of a prescription should I take?
- How long should I do this or take this?
- Can you interpret my lab results?
MOST IMPORTANT - Our forums do not replace the need for you to visit with your doctor.
