Question

Maura, a 35 year-old-woman, was walking through the grocery store and collapsed into a seizure without warning. She was brought by ambulance to Hartford Hospital and underwent a battery of tests to determine the cause of her seizure.

She meets with her physician, Warren, and he gives her the bad news. She has an aggressive form of brain cancer. Maura is understandably upset but hides her feeling and takes the news in stride. Warren indicates that it is important to begin aggressive chemotherapy immediately and begins to schedule appointments with Maura. He tells her that aggressive chemotherapy followed by radiation is the best course of action and he sends her right out for blood work and additional testing.

Once she returns, he presents Maura with a consent form, which she immediately signs without reading. She has many questions about her upcoming care, but does not ask them. She is not certain if she understands what comes next, but she just wants to get out of there, so she smiles and says she understands, takes her appointment calendar, and heads home.

Please discuss Maura’s rights as a patient of Dr. Warren. Have any of Maura’s rights been violated?

Additionally, discuss whether Maura has upheld her responsibilities as a patient of Dr. Warren. If she has failed to uphold any responsibilities, please indicate what responsibilities have been neglected and discuss how they could have been handled more appropriately.

Answer 1

Maura's rights as a patient are

• Have the right to get detailed information about the treatment plan
• Right to have the privacy and confidentiality of her health information.
• Right to accept or reject the treatment plan.
• Right to take the decision on treatment choice.

Dr.Warren has failed to give detailed information about her treatment plan and failed to disclose the required documents before getting her signed in the consent form. Her rights to getting a detailed explanation of the list of proposed procedures, adverse events, and complications have been violated. The doctor has failed to give opportunities to clear her doubts and to decide upon her treatment plan. Thus the right of deciding authority has been violated.

As a patient, Maura had the responsibility to know about the risks and benefits of the treatment plan and to clear with the physician of her doubts. She had signed the consent on the spot without reading it. She didn't clarify any information before taking the final decision. She was neglected in her responsibilities and wasted her own time and doctor. This can be handled by giving opportunities and enough time to Maura to express her feelings on her diagnosis. The doctor should reassure the patient and analyze the patient's emotions on accepting of her diagnosis before discussing the treatment plan.