Pressuring Mrs Thomas to accept treatment: a case history.
A general practitioner (GP) recounts events which unfolded after visiting a patient at home. She was found to be suffering from an entirely curable clinical condition which was worsening as a result of refusal to accept effective medical treatment. The effects upon a grown-up son of the patient's refusal, and the increasing burden of care falling upon local district nursing services, were factors which influenced the GP's thinking and decision making.
Hurwitz
B
B
Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London.
D000368:Aged; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D003068:Coercion; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D026706:Paternalism; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010819:Physician's Role; D040841:Resource Allocation; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000532:radiotherapy*; D016312:Treatment Refusal; D014472:Umbilicus