[General practitioners surveyed on ethical conflicts. How do you handle the "reluctant" patient? How do you handle the patient demanding unnecessary treatment?].
Conflicts between the patient's right to make his own decisions and the physician's obligation to promote health may cause ethical problems in general practice. A questionnaire was sent to 120 Swedish general practitioners; 82 responded, 47 of whom were later interviewed. Faced with a patient reluctant to consent to a medically well founded intervention a majority of the GPs said that they would try to persuade the patient, while they would not agree to medically unjustifiable treatment to patients demanding this. Nor only ethical guidelines, but also a situational ideal of covenant in the patient-physician relationship is desirable in the GP's everyday practice.
Bremberg
Stefan
S
Citykliniken Landskrona och enheten för medicinsk etik, Lunds universitet. stefan.bremberg@telia.com
Nilstun
Tore
T
D003657:Decision Making; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005194:Family Practice / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010358:Patient Participation; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000523:psychology*; D010822:Physicians, Women / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D016312:Treatment Refusal