Doctors' beliefs can hinder patient care

msnbc ^ | June 22, 2007 | Sabrina Rubin Erdely

[hocndoc]

First, you must define “care.” Doing what ever a patient demands as laws and medical technology change is not “patient care.”

Would you really prefer a doctor without a conscience or one that will violate his conscience? How do you know he is doing what *you* want and not what your enemy has paid him to do? How can you be sure that you are not the “donor” for some wealthy man’s new liver or kidney?

[hocndoc]

It’s as though the author doesn’t know that Plan B is over the counter.

[Dick Vomer]

Get real. You talk like you think every female is born knowing about the proper dosage of regular birth control pills to effect emergency contraception or even has an existing prescription for birth control to do what you suggested. And believe me, in Pennsylvania it takes almost 10 months to get an appointment with an OB/GYN.

yawn!!! every emergency room has access to this and the nurse provides this to all discharged patients or the patient advocates as well.... of course the Christians hide these tables and burn those nurses at the stake out in parking lot if they are sympathetic to rape victims, doncha know?

Plan B is one brand of EC. It has two progesterone pills. Birth control pills that have both estrogen and progesterone can also be used for EC. Choose only one type of pill to take for EC. The chart below contains the dosage information for some common brands of birth control pills. Some birth control packages have several different colors. It is important to take the exact color on this chart. Brands not listed have not been tested for their effectiveness.

	1st Dose - Take within 72 hours of intercourse	2nd Dose - Take 12 hours after 1st dose
Plan B - Specially designed for use as EC	1 pill	1 pill
Regular Birth Control Pills	1st Dose - Take within 72 hours of intercourse	2nd Dose - Take 12 hours after 1st dose
Alesse	5 pink pills	5 pink pills
Levlen	4 orange pills	4 orange pills
Levlite	5 pink pills	5 pink pills
Levora	4 white pills	4 white pills
Lo-Ovral	4 white pills	4 white pills
Nordette	4 orange pills	4 orange pills
Ovral	2 white pills	2 white pills
Ovrette	20 pills (take within 48 hours of intercourse)	20 pills more
Tri-Levlen	4 yellow pills	4 yellow pills
Trivora	4 pink pills	4 pink pills
Triphasil	4 yellow pills	4 yellow pills

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

I don’t know. I call bs on this article. She names names but the pieces don’t fit. ER docs don’t have offices you can call. Good Sam? Is that a Catholic hospital? Catholic hospitals I know of don’t stock contraceptives or abortion pills. If the hospital policy allows it, a physician who has no moral objections could be asked to write the script. Medical professionals are allowed to refuse to perform treatments contrary to their moral code.

This story sounds distorted.

[fizzixprof]

People who would respond to this article or to this post are generally educated and have access to computers. Intellectual discussion on this topic is necessary, especially as bioethics are concerned.
The victims in the few cases where a doctor refuses care are those who are not able to speak for themselves in this forum - the poor. For those of us who are Christians, our primary concern, our duty as those who believe in the words spoken by Jesus Christ, is to protect the rights of those who cannot protect themselves.
I may not believe in a procedure for myself, but I do believe that no matter what your economic status, you deserve to make your own choice. To make a choice, one must know options. Doctors are in a position of authority and power, people listen to them more than they pay attention to the myriad of pamphlets strewn about an ER. In order to treat individuals as equals, everyone needs the same information.
If a patient makes a choice the doctor disagrees with, the doctor should not have to go against his or her morals. The doctor should offer other options to the patient, including the option to be treated by another doctor.
In this way, all rights are respected.

Restricting access to information is never a good idea.

[bbruit]

um, I think you have never covered the ER. In my hospital we share responsibility for ER call and there is no virtually no chance that another GYN will be available if the on-call Gyn has a moral problem with providing emergency contraception or post rape counselling that mentions the option of abortion in the case of conception.

[bbruit]

Not true for Catholic hospitals in NJ.

[LaineyDee]

I don’t believe this story is legitimate. The client’s decision to take the morning after pill doesn’t ultimately rest with this one Doctor. As a nurse of 22 years... I’ve never heard of an ER Dr. refusing treatment based on personal bias without referring the client to someone without that bias. Furthermore, there had to be a nurse in the examination room..... a police report completed (i.e., police involvement and rape counselor offered)... and I can’t imagine the authorities telling her there was nothing she could do but listen to the Dr.

[Dick Vomer]

name the hospital and city? Otherwise, I still call B.S.

I currently have very good info that the Catholic hospitals in Texas do offer this service or access to the agencies that provide that. It's all about caring for the patient.

So just get me the name of the hospital, city and I'll make a call....problem solved. Or is this just a "well I've heard" type of story on your part?

[drlevy88]

The Hippocratic Oath once made that pretty clear: No abortive remedies.

[Excellence]

Actually, I used to be an ER clerk. If somebody wanted a different doctor, we found them a different doctor. If somebody had a personal doctor they wanted contacted, we contacted their personal doctor.

[Harrius Magnus]

Exactly. As a doctor, I can sincerely tell you that I’ve never met a physician, who in those circumstances, wouldn’t have gone out of their way to help the girl discuss her resources available. Even the nasty cynical ones would be afraid of the attention (of a hit piece like this) or a lawsuit. This article is BS.