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.