title: Should we refuse requests for complementary therapies?
abstract: Health care providers sometimes receive requests from patients or families for complementary therapies. When should they accede to such requests, and when should they refuse them? This is not a problem peculiar to complementary therapies. It arises whenever patients or families request conventional therapies which health care professionals judge problematic in the circumstances. What follows is a set of rationalized recommendations about when health care professionals should and should not honour requests for therapies, whether they be conventional or complementary.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health Care Ethics, Office of the Coordinator of Health Sciences, #400-2194 Health Sciences Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada BC V6T 1Z3. abrowne@unixg.ubc.ca
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Browne
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000523:psychology*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D018447:Medical Futility; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D016079:Refusal to Treat; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012449:Safety