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From: geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu (Gordon E. Banks)
Newsgroups: sci.med.aids
Subject: Re: Health Care Workers and AIDS
Message-ID: <27798@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Date: 5 Oct 89 20:33:30 GMT
References: <27750@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU>
Sender: news@CS.UCLA.EDU
Reply-To: geb@cadre.dsl.pitt.edu (Gordon E. Banks)
Organization: Decision Systems Laboratory, Univ. of Pittsburgh, PA.
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Approved: aids@cs.ucla.edu
Archive-number: 1313

No patient has a right to demand that a physician treat him.  However,
there is a duty on the part of physicians to treat patients who need
it.  This may sound contradictory, but I don't think it is.  The
duty is something voluntarily taken upon oneself by entering the
profession and can not nor should not be enforced coercively.  If
the time comes that Dr. Day and others feel that they can not accept
the duty, they are free to depart.  However, physicians also have
a right to place some conditions on accepting the patient for treatment.
If the patient refuses to follow the advise of the physician or
accept recommended diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, the physician
may discharge the patient.  The physician-patient relationship must
be one of mutual agreement.  Neither party should be in a dictatorial
role.  Thus, the physician should be able to say to the patient,
"all of the patients that I perform surgery on are tested for HIV".
If this is not acceptable to the patient, he can look elsewhere for a
surgeon or be treated by some other modality.  Alternatively, 
special precautions can be taken to prevent infection of operating
room personnel, even should this make surgery less convenient, or
even less safe for the patient.