Reference no: EM133296339

Case: You are members of a Board of Medical Ethics, addressing issues and cases which concern the relationship between medical professionals and patients. As a group consider which model provides, in your estimation, the proper guidelines for professional/patient interaction with respect to the issues and cases. Write a policy statement that (1) states specifically why the model you chose is preferable to others (list your reasons), and (2) specifically how the model you chose applies to the specific issues raised below. Also consider in the particular case in question some suggestions as to how the medical professional should deal with the particular patient. Write down your answers, and choose one among your group to present them in class. Your aim is consensus, but if there is a dissenting opinion, the dissenters will be asked to offer a separate minority viewpoint.

Issue #1: Dealing with requests for alternative medicines

You are a psychiatrist. A patient is referred to you who has been diagnosed and treated for clinical depression with standard antidepressants. The patient complains that she doesn't like the effects of the antidepressants, and doesn't like the idea of taking "artificial chemicals." She tells you that she has heard of a natural substance, St. John's Wort, that alleviates depression. What little you have read about this herbal medicine has suggested that its effectiveness is dubious, and that it is quite unlikely to be of great help in the case of severe depression. You are convinced that sustained treatment with antidepressants is the best course. Of course, you could use the patient's ignorance as a means of manipulation: telling her that the herbal medicine has been shown to be seriously detrimental to mood, even though this is not borne out in the existing studies. How should this request for alternative treatment be handled? Explain your reasons.