Do you think a doctor should follow a patients requests even if the doctor knows it won't make a difference?

Question

Please elaborate... do you think certain times okay or not? what if the person is dying?

Answer 1

there are several factors that must be considered first

-if the request jeopardizes the dr's license then absolutely not-the dr can then refuse to treat that patient

-if it's a comfort measure for the patient and won't cause harm or break the law, then yes it should be considered b/c patients do have rights that the dr has to abide by (it's called the patient's bill of rights-it's posted in all hospital and dr office setting where patien'ts can see them)

i do feel that the dr should explain to the patient the reasons why the request would not be effective-especially if it's medication. there is no reason to prescribe a medicine that won't work and it could inhibit the immune system from working correctly in the future

Answer 2

If it makes no difference, its better to follow the patients request, because that will make the patient happy.. but the doctor should explain it to the patient..

Answer 3

If it really won't make a difference, there's the "why not?" factor, but there are lots of things that do make a difference not seen by the patient. Drugs have side-effects, there are societal costs to consider as well. It's unethical to bill an insurer, for instance, for something you know isn't right, and overuse of antibiotics makes them less effective for others.

Answer 4

That depends on the request.

Answer 5

i think if the person is dying...it would be kind to do as he wish