The Right Kind of Paternalism

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Abstract
The practice of medicine has entered a new phase of patient "consumerism" and has, fortunately, emerged from the days of strict physician paternalism. This welcome trend places new emphasis on the role of patients in decision making and the right of patients to refuse various diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. However, the argument that such a trend is without drawbacks fails to consider that a patient's emotional response to his illness may compromise his decision-making ability. In today's litigious environment, physicians are reluctant to persuade (let alone coerce) patients to undergo procedures they refuse. In many cases a physician presents a . . .

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