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medpundit |
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Monday, December 23, 2002Except in certain situations (such as taking mandated ER unrefered call or in emergency cases) have the right to refuse service. This may come as a shock to the Bloviator and many others who seem to believe that they have absolute right to health care of unlimited expense and unlimited options independent of their ability to pay. They are confusing emergency care with regular office visits. Private physicians regularly refuse to take patients whose insurance (most notably Medicare or Medicaid) does not pay enough to even cover the operating expense of the practice. Why should physicians be required to take patients who ultimately cost the practice money? Physicians can and do "fire" patients from their practice who are regularly grossly noncompliant with their medical management and scheduled office visits or who are abusive of the physician and/or the office staff. On the surface a waver may seem unfair but patients have the right and every opportunity to see another physician. Exactly so. You might think that patients who dislike their physicians would automatically exercise their right to choose and go elsewhere, but not all of them do. There are some people who thrive on conflict. They go to a doctor even though they think he’s a quack. They purposely ignore his recommendations and then blame him when things go wrong, just for the thrill and the drama of the fight. It’s these sorts of people that doctors routinely dismiss from their practice, and rightfully so. They represent an increased liability risk, not to mention the emotional exhaustion that’s involved in dealing with them. I’ve said this before, but it’s worth saying again. The cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship is trust. If that’s missing on either side, the relationship is dysfunctional. It’s better for both parties to dissolve it. If the patient isn’t able to recognize that dysfunction, then it’s up to the physician to initiate the divorce. This isn’t arrogance, it’s just common sense. This, of course, is a completely different issue than having patients sign waivers not to sue. That's just folly. It's like asking a fiance to sign a waiver not to divorce you once you're married. Disagreements are bound to crop up in any relationship, whether they're family, business, or medical. It's far better to settle those disputes in a court of law than to let things fester with no recourse. The latter is too likely to end violently. posted by Sydney on 12/23/2002 07:37:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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