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Thursday, August 31, 2006"Welcome to the era of balkanized medicine," said R. Alta Charo, a bioethicist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison. "We've had this for years with religious hospitals. What's happening now is it's drifting down to the level of individual practitioners and small group practices. It essentially creates a parallel world of medicine." ...Some experts say such practices are providing substandard care if they do not fully inform patients about all options. "It's not enough for someone to advertise 'We provide natural family planning' or have a sign up in the waiting room that says 'Only natural family planning available here,' " said Jeffrey L. Ecker, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Harvard Medical School. "The assumption shouldn't be that patients understand exactly what that means. The doctor has an obligation to fully explain all options to their patients." Why isn't it enough to have a sign that says "Only natural family planning available here?" Is that any different than a doctor who announces he only does accupuncture or only does botox injections? Here's an example closer to home. I don't prescribe weight loss pills. They're neither safe nor effective. When patient's come to me seeking them, I explain why I don't recommend them ("If they were safe and effective, don't you think I'd be taking them?" usually wins the argument in the end). I don't send them off with a prescription, but neither do I send them with a referral to someone who does prescribe those drugs. Is this any different than what the natural family planning doctors are doing? Not really. I don't want someone telling me I have to initiate treatment against my better judgement. It's no different for those who want to practice with their consciences intact. posted by Sydney on 8/31/2006 07:42:00 PM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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