Dr. McMenamin, who was a practicing emergency physician before turning his sights to the practice of law discusses when a physician-patient relationship is considered to form. A good rule is that a general discussion of a topic, even if erroneous, is unlikely to be actionable. The more the discussion is patient-specific, however, the greater the likelihood that a relationship will be deemed to exist, and so the greater the likelihood that a duty will be found. Based on the telephone cases, if the doctor knows the patient’s name, or has access to his old records, or has examined the patient, or is paid a fee, the probability increases that a duty will arise.
