Reference no: EM133492284

Physician Lacks Compassion

Mrs. Smith arranged for an appointment to see Dr. Mean, a rheumatologist, who was a specialist in her particular disease process, systemic scleroderma. After scheduling her appointment, Mrs. Smith was asked to have her medical records faxed to Dr. Mean's office before her scheduled appointment on March 27. Two days before her scheduled appointment with Mean, Mrs. Smith called Mean's office to confirm that her medical records had arrived. She was told at that time that she was on Mean's calendar for March 23, not March 27. She had missed her appointment. Mrs. Smith protested that no confirmation call had been made from the office to remind her of the appointment and to verify the time and date--a common practice that Mrs. Smith had experienced with her other physicians. Mrs. Smith, desperate for help, pleaded with the scheduler to reschedule her as soon as possible. She had waited 2 months for this appointment, and her illness had gotten progressively worse. The scheduler explained to Mrs. Smith that Mean was a busy physician and that according to the practice rules, which Dr. Mean had set and emphasized could not be altered, she could not schedule a new appointment until the next date available-which was April 27, a month later-even though she agrees that no call had been made to confirm the appointment. When at last Mrs. Smith new appointments came, it came quickly evident that Dr. Mean had not ever read the patient's lengthy forms that had to be completed by the patient prior to her scheduled appointment. Dr. Mean was dismissive of the patient's concerns and exhibited the same uncaring attitude as the office staff from the time the patient arrived until she left the physician's office.

Discussion

1. Describe how Dr. Mean's office practice violate the professional code of ethics for a physician.

2. What role could a hospital ethics committee play in addressing Dr. Mean's insensitivity to Mrs. Smith needs? Explain your answer.