Dr Rustico Jimenez made headlines this week when he decided to share a speculative diagnosis of Manny Pacquiao, which he had made after observing TV coverage of the boxer, with the entire world.
In comments which have been reported by multiple media outlets the president of the Private Hospitals Association of the Philippines speculated that Pacquiao was showing the showing the first signs of Parkinson?s Disease,
?Even though his reflexes are quick, I noticed the movement ? it?s just another view, my personal view ? but it seems like there are early signs. There are some movements that you will notice with his hands. It?s in the hands, and not the head, where you can easily see this. It twitches a little bit. Although I haven?t seen it up close, I think I am seeing that there are some signs.?
Perhaps Jimenez could not have predicted that these comments during an interview with a Filipino radio station would cause enough of a stir for Pacquiao himself to be forced to interrupt his holiday in Israel to issue a statement. Even if this is the case he is still guilty of acting in an irresponsible and indiscreet fashion, and certainly not in the manner you would expect from a member of the medical profession.
Discretion is supposed to be the watchword for doctors who should keep any information they learn about a patient absolutely confidential. If Jimenez genuinely had concerns about Pacquiao?s health he should have either made a concerted effort to share them with the boxer, something he acknowledged he did not do, or kept them to himself altogether.
Had he made the effort to contact Pacquiao?s team he would probably have been politely told that the ten time world champion was receiving the best medical attention money could buy from qualified professionals examining him in person and was not in need of a long distance diagnosis based on an opinion formed purely on the basis of some TV footage.
As anyone who has awaited important medical tests or had any sort of health scare will tell you the possibility of serious illness is a frightening and unsettling thing. Having already subjected himself to the most rigorous medicals imaginable Pacquiao did not deserve to have his holiday interrupted by idle speculation about the prospect of him suffering from Parkinson?s.
Jimenez?s error of judgement is exasperated by the fact that Pacquiao?s long term trainer and mentor Freddie Roach does have Parkinson?s and has lived with the disease for over two decades, making this a particularly sensitive and potentially painful issue for the boxer and his entourage.
Celebrities become used to being the subject of speculation and as the most famous boxer in the world Pacquiao is presumably accustomed to intense media scrutiny. However as a qualified member of the medical profession Dr Jimenez has signed up to a set of standards which are higher than those expected from your average blogger or journalist and publicizing an unsolicited and unwanted diagnosis of a patient he had never met was irresponsible and unethical.
