It's tough for doctors because we are often held responsible for people who either do not want, or do not accept, our help and advice. But, as long as their name remains on our rolls and as long as we persist in trying to be constructive, the lawyers can get us.
I have been burned several times by keeping them on the rolls in the charity clinic, only to be sued by them eventually for not doing a better job "taking care of them." What? I am not a professional mother and I do not "take care of" anybody. I am a doctor, not a caretaker and, despite the modern lingo, not a "care-giver" either.
Like all doctors, I try to work with my patients - and do not take care of them, or I to try to bring them around to where I can work with them.
If I were more self-protective, I would not even try and would just say "I cannot help you. Good bye," but that is not my medical tradition. My medical tradition is that you are a friend to your patients, whoever they are.
Novalis presents such a case. More practical docs than I am would just throw them out of the office. However, after being punished and hassled legally several times by going the extra mile, my heart grows harder.
Indeed, good deeds often are punished and yes, it does lead to some bitterness especially when it is performed on a charity basis. I have never been sued or hassled by a private, self-paying patient.
Tracked: Jun 10, 09:13