Requests for Inappropriate Treatment: Can A Doctors “Just Say ‘No'”?

Ann Suziedelis

Health Care Ethics USA
Health Care Ethics USA

Abstract
This essay examines (1) the underlying philosophical considerations when patients or decision makers request “inappropriate treatment”; (2) questions to consider in determining if the treatment sought would be ineffective, or, in the words of Weijer et al., effective toward a controversial end; and (3) practical ways to resolve such conflicts.


Suziedelis A. Requests for Inappropriate Treatment: Can A Doctors “Just Say ‘No'”? Health Care Ethics USA. 2005;13(1):E2