title: Personality disorder and competence to refuse treatment.
abstract: The traditional view that having a personality disorder, unlike other mental disorders, is not usually reason enough to consider a person incompetent to make healthcare decisions is challenged. The example of a case in which a woman was treated for a physical disorder without her consent illustrates that personality disorder can render a person incompetent to refuse essential treatment, particularly because it can affect the doctor-patient relationship within which consent is given.
authors.affiliation: Otago District Health Board, Dunedin, New Zealand. liz.winburn@otagodhb.govt.nz
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Winburn
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mullen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000740:Anemia / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001803:Blood Transfusion / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*; D016743:Mental Competency / Q000523:psychology*; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D016728:Self-Injurious Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D016312:Treatment Refusal / Q000941:ethics / Q000523:psychology*