Is The Doctor Wrong?

How old is the patient currently?

15.

To be truthful, I don't know this person a whole lot, so I don't know if she was born this way or when it made its appearance.

I feel like a 15 year old has the right to know. I’d feel differently if the child’s significantly younger.

Would it be better for the doctor to lie about it?

Legally the Dr has to have the parents in the room when he explains it to them and her. I'm sure he would've told the parents first.

Doctors surely have an ethical obligation to inform patients, however age and ability to understand may add some gray area. I’d say it depends on the age and ability of the patient, assuming they’re a minor.

I'm sure they are policies, rules, and laws that cover this situation. It unfortunately happens all too often.

I used to work with a guy who was told as a teen that his life expectancy wasn’t past 25. He went to law school and practiced well into his 50s before retiring from poor health. Didn’t have children because he thought he was already on borrowed time.

quote:

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If somebody has a condition that the life expectancy is just their early 20's.

The dr. tells this to the patient & her parent during a visit.

The parent gets mad at the dr. for the girl to hear this.


I say the dr. is in a "Catch 22" scenario because if he DIDN'T say anything & the unfortunate happens, he'll be blamed for that decision.

Thoughts?

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There's never a good time nor a good way to inform a 15yr old that their time is limited, believing so is a myth.

Considering that the girl is 15 (per other posts), there's nothing else the doctor could do. I get the parent's being upset, but it's the doctor's job to inform their patient if the patient is able to understand the diagnosis. The parent is just focusing their grief into blaming the doctor for simply doing their job.