The impact of physician denial upon patient autonomy and well-being.
Open Access
- 1 September 1992
- journal article
- research article
- Published by BMJ in Journal of Medical Ethics
- Vol. 18 (3) , 135-137
- https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.18.3.135
Abstract
It is now widely accepted that a patient's ability to engage in autonomous decision-making can be seriously threatened when she denies significant aspects of her medical condition. In this paper I use a true case to reveal the harmful effects of physician denial upon patient autonomy and well-being. I suggest further that such physician denial may be more common than is generally acknowledged, since aspects of the contemporary medical ethos likely serve to reinforce rather than to undercut such denial.Keywords
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