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HMO Doctor – for Nonsmokers Only?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2009

Marvin E. Herring
Affiliation:
An associate professor of Clinical Family Practice at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine
Edmund L. Erde
Affiliation:
A professor in the Department of Family Practice at The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey School of Osteopathic Medicine, where he teaches bioethics

Extract

When patients join a Health Maintenance Organization (HMO), they choose a primary care physician from among a set whose members are approved by a board according to preestablished criteria. To assist patients in making their choice of physician, the HMO provides them an information packet about each physician.

Recently, a physician (let us call him Dr. Exchs) requested permission to include in the information packet about himself that he would not accept patients who smoke and would not continue the care of current patients who smoke. His poignant statement follows.

Type
Special Section: Healthcare Relationships: Ties that Bind
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1994

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References

Notes

1. Erde, EL. On peeling, slicing and dicing an onion: the complexity of taxonomies of values and medicine. Theoretical Medicine 1983;4:726.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

2. Gert, B. The Moral Rules: A New Rational Foundation for Morality. New York: Harper and Row, 1970.Google Scholar