E. B. Anyanwu^1,, Harrison O. Abedi², Efe A. Onohwakpor²

A trained health care provider principally offers care to ill-patients, offers advocacy to groups of persons, could be a passionate counsellor when needed, and may offer preventive services to individuals and communities at large. He is trained to alleviate the problem of sickness from patients. Therefore, a patient may just as well be the physician himself or may be his immediate family members who can fall ill and so needs the expertise of a doctor. The patient maybe a colleague, friend or employee who all maybe intimate with the physician but may need his services when they are ill. The challenge therefore, is when does the doctor stop doctoring a patient and transfer care to another doctor. What risks may show up if a doctor treats himself and close family members? Is it ethical for a doctor not to offer treatment solely on the ground that the patient is a close relation?

patient, physician, treatment, family, doctor, ethics