Can A Doctor Legally Refuse To Treat Patients?

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• Can A Doctor Legally Refuse To Treat Patients?

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As medical malpractice attorneys in Philadelphia,
they often hear stories from patients complaining
about their doctors refusing to provide medical
care or terminating a physician-patient
relationship for various reasons or no reason at
all. In most cases, their best medical
malpractice attorneys at The Weitz Firm, LLC,
take these cases and defend patients in the
courtroom to seek compensation on their behalf
because refusal to treat patients is prohibited
by law and the physician-patient relationship was
terminated for an illegal reason. In other
cases, meanwhile, there is nothing they can do,
because there are circumstances under which a
physician can legally deny care to a patient,
says their Philadelphia refusal to treat patients
attorney.
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CAN A DOCTOR LEGALLY REFUSE TO TREAT PATIENTS?
Doctors often feel compelled to refuse to treat a
patient for various reasons, including but not
limited to
The patients inability to pay for the treatment
The patients lack of insurance coverage
The patients failure to show up for
appointments
The the patients reluctance to follow the
doctors orders (i.e. failure to take prescribed
medications)
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The patient requesting services outside the
physicians area of expertise
The patient requesting services that are morally
or religiously objectionable to the doctor and
The patient suffering from a transmissible
disease.
Generally, physicians in Pennsylvania and all
across the U.S. must have a legal reason for
refusing to treat a patient or terminating the
physician-patient relationship. In fact, there
are limited circumstances under which doctors can
refuse to provide medical care to a patient. In
most cases, terminating the relationship and/or
refusing to treat a patient is against the law
and may constitute medical malpractice.
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Refusing To Treat Patients Is A Violation Of The
Emtala
Their experienced refusal to treat patients
attorney in Philadelphia explains that physicians
who refuse to provide medical care to patients
for an illegal and unjustifiable reason act in
violation of the Emergency Medical Treatment and
Active Labor Act (EMTALA), the federal law that
was signed by President Ronald Reagan more than
three decades ago. The main purpose of the EMTALA
law is to prevent the so-called practice of
patient dumping and punish doctor for releasing
patients and/or denying medical treatment to
patients who do not have valid or sufficient
insurance coverage or have no means to pay for
the medical care. The EMTALA applies to all
hospitals in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and all
across the U.S. that receive Medicare funding.
The main purpose of the EMTALA law is to prevent
the so-called practice of patient dumping and
punish doctor for releasing patients and/or
denying medical treatment to patients who do not
have valid or sufficient insurance coverage or
have no means to pay for the medical care. The
EMTALA applies to all hospitals in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania and all across the U.S. that receive
Medicare funding.
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Refusal To Treat Is Abandonment Of The Patient
However, as always, there are exceptions to the
general rule. If a physician has provided
reasonable notice to the patient, in writing, and
there is sufficient time for the patient to find
another physician to continue the treatment, that
physician may be able to legally terminate the
physician-patient relationship.
If a physician fails to provide reasonable notice
and does not give that patient enough time to
find another physician, that patient may be able
to hold the physician responsible for
abandonment of the patient and sue him or her
for the breach of duty.
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In Pennsylvania, a physician can be subject to
disciplinary action and exposed to civil
liability if the patient can prove abandonment
of the patient as the breach of the physicians
duty. Speak with medical malpractice attorneys at
The Weitz Firm, LLC, to review your particular
case and determine whether or not you have a
valid case against your physician who refused to
provide treatment or severed the
physician-patient relationship without providing
reasonable notice. Schedule a free consultation
by calling at 267-587-6240.
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Contact The Weitz Firm, LLC.

• MERCURY

1528 Walnut Street 4th Floor Philadelphia, PA
19102
267-587-6240
https//www.theweitzfirm.com/contact.shtml