Doctor Holds Patient in Room

While watching the news one day I saw a story about a physician who refused to let a patient leave until payment was made. The patient said that she called her physician and asked how much a specific service would cost and he explained the costs to her. Once she went to the office he changed the price of the service. The patient informed him that she only had the amount he originally stated and he told her that she could not leave until she made that payment. The physician blocked the door to prevent patient from leaving. One of the assistants in his office assisted in restraining the patient as well.

This behavior was unethical in many situations not only health care. Holding a patient against their will due to nonpayment was not right. There are many individuals in the United States who cannot afford healthcare and they deserve the right to receive services without feeling that they will be harassed for not being able to make payments. In the book discussing Legal and Ethical Issues, it states that a patient has the right to discharge. Patients should not be detained because of the inability to pay for services rendered. This could be considered false imprisonment. This was evident in this particular case. The physician was reprimanded for his behavior which was deserved. Caregivers have the responsibility to exercise good judgment which was not used by the physician or his assistant at this particular clinic. It would have been extremely uncomfortable as a patient to have to experience this behavior by someone I trust.

It is important for physicians to remember the focus of their jobs which is to help the patient. False imprisonment is no form of helping the patient and does not demonstrate any positive ethical principles such as beneficence and nonmalficence. These principles are always important to remember when giving care to patients and in my opinion are two of the most important principles in health care ethics. Although this was an unfortunate event, there are similar cases that have occurred. If more patients are informed of their rights, maybe situations like these would happen less often.