Medical Staff

MDs’ values affect treatment recommendations

Hospitalist Leadership Connection, February 21, 2007

A study published in the February 8 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine found that a significant number (8%) of physicians feel it is their right to decline to tell patients about treatments they object to for moral or religious reasons.

Further, 18% of the physicians surveyed believe they are under no obligation to refer patients elsewhere (i.e., to other physicians or facilites) for the care or services to which they object. The survey polled 1,144 doctors nationwide.

The net result, researchers say, is that 40 million American patients see physicians who do not believe that they are obligated to disclose information about legal treatments that they personally object to, and 100 million patients see physicians who do not feel the need to refer patients to another provider.

To access the article's abstract, click here.

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