The survey asked a number of ethically challenging questions, including whether the prescription of placebos to patients who didn’t require but demanded treatment was acceptable (34 percent said yes, 48 percent said no, 18 percent said “it depends”), whether physicians could remain unbiased with prescriptions if they accept lunch from pharmaceutical representatives (72 percent said yes, 20 percent said no, and 8 percent said “it depends”), or whether physician-assisted suicide should be permitted in certain instances (47 percent said yes, 40percent said no, and 13 percent said “it depends”).
The survey also asked whether it would be acceptable to become involved in a romantic or sexual relationship with a patient, to which 1 percent responded “yes, even a current patient,” 22 percent responded “yes, six months after they stopped being a patient,” 68 percent said no, and 9 percent responded “it depends.” Asked whether they would perform an abortion if it conflicted with their personal beliefs, 51 percent of physicians said yes, 36 percent said no, and 13 percent said “it depends.”
