Clinicians must avoid violating professional ethical principles and patients’ legal rights and they may not ever discriminate. So, what does that mean in practice?
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(3):229-236. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.3.ecas4-1603.
When the patient delivers a low-birth-weight infant that requires extensive time in the neonatal intensive, should she be held responsible? Where do we draw the line? More importantly, on what basis do we draw the line?
Patients can use Internet sources to select physicians; physicians who use patient databases to select or reject patients, however, cross a professional-ethical boundary.
Physicians who are faced with a patient who refuses to undergo prescribed annual screening should attempt to engage them in shared decision making and educate the patient about the risks and benefits of the test.
Physicians who are faced with a patient who refuses to undergo prescribed annual screening should attempt to engage them in shared decision making and educate the patient about the risks and benefits of the test.