But what are the rules surrounding this and what do doctors need to know?

Intimate examinations are something that every GP will have to carry out at some point in their career, but it’s important that they are conducted in an appropriate manner, especially if one is required during a home visit. Dr Gabrielle Pendlebury, medicolegal consultant at Medical Protection, gives her advice on how best to manage these situations

You are concerned there’s a small chance a patient might have cancer. You want to refer them for tests. Do you tell them the possible, albeit unlikely, diagnosis and risk upsetting or scaring them? Or do you try and keep them calm and not mention the C word at all?

Suzanne Creed, Clinical Risk Education Manager explains how to increase your understanding of conflict and provides some key strategies to deal with it more effectively.

Employment law experts Croner Consulting provide advice on how to manage redundancy within your practice to ensure the rights of employees are respected.

Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant and editor-in-chief of Practice Matters, shares a recent case where a member sought advice regarding consent for childhood immunisation.

Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant, provides practical tips to ensure you have systems in place to treat children and young people safely.

Is the patient’s son entitled to access his mother’s confidential information? Where a patient lacks capacity clinicians should consider what action is in the patient’s best interests.

Are we obliged to facilitate a request for CCTV footage of the practice car park? You need to consider the confidentiality of other patients. Dr Rachel Birch, medicolegal consultant, answers a member’s query.

If you are a GP member of Medical Protection and would like to take part in the NHS England Winter Indemnity Scheme, find all the information you need here.

The BMA has recently updated their site with some medical indemnity guidance for GPs . Included in this guidance is their assertion that clinicians working in primary care will still need to retain their MDO membership.

Online prescription services offer great convenience to patients, but they also come with risks. What do you do if one of your patients has been taking medication prescribed online that you do not think they require? Dr Marika Davies, senior medicolegal adviser at Medical Protection, explores this issue.

Advancements in medical technology can bring huge benefits for patients and clinicians alike – but new approaches can also mean new risks. Dr Helen Hartley, Head of Underwriting Policy at Medical Protection, looks at where the liability lies for artificial intelligence.

Following new guidance from NHS England, Louisa Waite considers the importance of clear and honest communication when treating a patient who has reached the end of life.

Healthcare professionals do not need to seek Court approval when withdrawing treatment from patients in a permanent vegetative state, following a ruling by the Supreme Court.

Last week saw the welcome news that Dr Bawa-Garba’s legal team had successful appealed against her erasure from the medical register. Dr Rob Hendry, medical director at Medical Protection, looks at what this decision means for doctors, the courts and the GMC

Here we look at some of the characteristics commonly associated with a professional person; as a doctor, these are perhaps the minimum expectations patients have of you.