US doctors now open to sex with patients

Doctors in the US are now open to a romantic or even a sexual relationship with patients, a survey has revealed.

Around 10,000 American physicians were asked 20 'ethically thorny' questions in a poll conducted by WebMD, an online medical consultancy, which found out that 11.7 per cent admitted they could become romantically or sexually involved with a patient.

But the doctors said they waited for at least six months after treatment, the New York Post reported.

"We shouldn't remotely entertain romantic thoughts when we see a patient," one doctor said. "But if you ran into that person outside the office at a later date and 'clicked', I see no problem."

But a whopping 83.1 per cent said mixing love and medicine was taboo - with one even calling it 'totally exploitative'.

The poll also found out that at least 23.2 per cent American doctors would prolong life-support, even if 'futile', to appease the patient's family.

While 17 per cent said they would "falsify a patient's condition" to get insurance money, about five percent said they might cover up a mistake even if it harmed the patient.