A Physician Is Immune from Liability When a Patients Actions Assignment

A Physician Is Immune from Liability When a Patients Actions Contribute as Much to His Own Harm as the Physicians - Assignment Example In cases of medical liability, informed refusal often arises in instances when patients claim that they were not fully made aware of the fact that by not following the doctors’ suggestions for either a screening regimen, appointments or taking their medication as ordered. Instead, they claim that doctors and nurses were not either clear or assertive (Martin et al, 2005). These patients seemingly agree to follow the doctor’s recommendations and then do not. Thereafter, these patients allege that the physician did not provide them with a full picture of the potential harm that could come to them from not following the recommendations put to them by the doctor (Lerner, 2014). The role of the physician in patient care is to actively determine what the most appropriate treatment for a patient is based on their medical problem determined by the physician’s knowledge, medical judgment as well as experience (Furrow et al, 2013). Thereafter, his job is to present these recommendations to the patient for their consideration and ideally to gain consent that they will follow through on the treatment plan. As a general rule, the patient is the one who makes the ultimate decision with regard to their medical care and therefore has the final word on whether or not to carry on with the treatment recommended (Hoffman, 2011). If the patient elects to follow the recommendations put forward by the physician, then essentially the only thing that the physician can do is to provide helpful advice and to follow up on the missed appointments. Non-compliance is an issue that is well known and in many instances inevitable (Hoffman, 2011).