Physician-Patient relationship and Ethics Flashcards
A patient requires a treatment not covered by his/her insurance
Never limit or deny care because of the expense in time or money. Discuss all treatment options with patients, even if some are not covered by their insurance companies
Informed consent (important notes)
- Patient must be informed that he/she can revoke written consent at any time, even orally
- Telephone consent is valid, but it should be documented
- Pregnant women can refuse procedures and treatments for their unborn children
- The health care worker performing the procedure should be the one to obtain consent
- Beneficence does not obviate the need for consent
Physician-patient relationship bounds
- No intimate social contact or dating with patients, parents of pediatrics or children of geriatrics
- Do not treat friends or family
- Do not prescribe for colleagues unless physician/patient relationship exists
- Any gift beyond a small token should be declined
- Physician is not obliged to accept everyone coming to him/her as a patient
- Physician has the right to end the physician/patient relationship but must give the patient sufficient time to obtain another caregiver
Should physicians answer questions from patient’s family without the patient’s explicit permission
No
Patient refuses lifesaving treatment on religious grounds
Don’t treat
Patient is angry about the long time he/she spent in the waiting room
Acknowledge the patient’s anger, but do not take a patient’s anger personally. Apologize for any inconvenience. Stay away from efforts to explain the delay
Organ and Tissue Donation
- Payment for organ donation is unacceptable except for renewable tissues such as sperm and eggs
- Only the organ donor network should ask for consent for the organs
- The family can refuse organ donation even if the patient has an organ donor card
A patient’s family member asks you not to disclose the result of a test if the prognosis is poor because the patient will be “unable to handle it”
Attempt to identify why the family member believes such info would be detrimental to patient’s condition. Explain that as long as the patient has decision-making capacity and does not indicate otherwise, communication of info concerning his/her care will not be withheld
Physician-Patient relationship Rules Set 3
11- Agree on problem before moving to solution
12- Be sure you understand what the patient is talking about before intervening
13- Patients do not get to select inappropriate treatments (explain why it’s not indicated!!)
14- Best answers serve multiple goals
15- Never lie
A 16-year old daughter refuses medication but her mother consents, do you write the prescription
Yes
Patient has difficulty taking medications
Provide written instructions; attempt to simplify treatment regimens; use teach-back method (ask patient to repeat regimen back to you) to ensure comprehension
Decision Making Capacity
- Competence is the legal term
- It is determined by the physician
- The components are:
- Patient is equal or over 18 years old or otherwise legally emancipated
- Patient makes and communicates a choice
- Patient is informed (knows and understands)
- Decision remains stable over time
- Decision is consistent with patient’s values and goals, not clouded by a mood disorder
- Decision is not a result of altered mental status (e.g., delirium, psychosis, intoxication)
Mother refuses to consent to emergency lifesaving treatment for her daughter on religious grounds
Treat
The order of criteria that the surrogates should use when making a medical decision for a patient
1- Subjective standard
2- Substituted judgment
3- Best-interest standard
Patient states that he/she finds you attractive
Ask direct, closed-ended questions and use a chaperon if necessary. Romantic relationships with patients are never appropriate
A 15-year old girl is pregnant and wants to keep the child. Her parents want you to tell her to give the child up for adoption
The patient retains the right to make decisions regarding her child, even if her parents disagree. Provide info to the teenager about the practical issues of caring for a baby. Discuss options, if requested. Encourage discussion between the teenager and her parents to reach the best decision
A 17-year old girl who is pregnant, from whom do you obtain the consent
Her guardian
Justice
To treat persons fairly and equitably. This does not always imply equally (e.g., triage)
Good Samaritan Laws
No liability if you stop and help in non-medical settings provided that:
- Actions are within your competence
- Only accepted procedures are performed
- Physician remains at scene after starting therapy until relieved by competent personnel
- No compensation asked from the patient
What if the child’s life is at risk, but the risk is not immediate
Court takes guardianship
A woman who had a mastectomy says she now feels “ugly”
Find out why the patient feels this way. Do not offer falsely reassuring statements (e.g., “you still look good”)
An invasive test is performed on the wrong patient
Regardless of the outcome, a physician is ethically obliged to inform a patient that a mistake has been made
Confidentiality can be broken in
- Reportable disease (e.g., STDs, TB, hepatitis, food poisoning)- physicians may have a duty to warn public officials, who will notify people at risk
- The Tarasoff decision (detain the patient, call the police, and notify the possible victim)
- Child and/or elder abuse
- Impaired automobile drivers (e.g., epileptics)
- Suicidal/homicidal patients
- A valid warrant or subpoena from the court
Do Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR)
- Also there is DNI which is Do Not Intubate order
- DNR refer only to withholding cardiopulmonary resuscitation
Beneficence
Physicians have a special ethical (fiduciary) duty to act in the patient’s best interest. May conflict with autonomy.
A 17-year old girl who has been living on her own and taking care of herself, from whom do you obtain the consent
The girl herself