Your Doc’s Politics Could Affect Your Care

Trump? Clinton?  Had enough?  Politics seems to poison most everything it touches and now a new study by Yale University researchers who surveyed primary care doctors in 29 states on how they would deal with different types of patient health concerns shows your doctors' political beliefs could affect your treatment..

Some medical issues were seen as nonpartisan with both Republican and Democratic doctors holding similar views about general issues such as depression, alcohol abuse and obesity. Other issues were more divisive with significant differences in areas such as hot-button topics like abortion, firearms and marijuana use.

U.S. News & World Report says Democratic doctors were more likely to urge patients not to keep guns in the home while Republican doctors were more likely to warn patients about the mental health risks of abortion. Republicans were also more inclined to advise patients to reduce marijuana use and consider the legal risks of using the drug.

The researchers said their studies show that doctors need to be aware of how their political views may affect the care they give. They also said that patients may want to consider their doctor’s politics when deciding on a healthcare provider.