title: Medical workplace violence.
abstract: Dr. Z., an obstetrician-gynecologist, refused to refill a narcotic prescription for a drug-seeking patient while on emergency room back-up call. For the next 6 months, he and his family were threatened and harassed by this patient. The constant fear of danger to his family dramatically affected Dr. Z., who questioned, "Is this the price of practicing medicine?"After months of being stalked and threatened by an angry former patient, Dr. A., an obstetrician/gynecologist, sought and was granted a court restraining order, which further infuriated the patient. When the threats became more pernicious, Dr. A. consulted a security expert, who evaluated her daily routine and advised her to dramatically revamp her life by changing where she shopped, continually altering her driving routes, learning self-defense skills, and constantly scanning her environment for the former patient. Despite making these striking changes, her life became unbearable as she loathed the practice of medicine that she once loved. Dr. A. stated, "Life will never be the same!"
authors.forename: R L.
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Hofeldt