Refusal of treatment — selected problems

Abstract

A doctor may refrain from treatment unless there is direct threat to life or sudden health risk. In the event of withdra- wal from treatment, the doctor is obliged to inform the patient, his/her legal representative or an actual guardian in advance and to indicate other possibilities of obtaining medical services from another physician or healthcare facility. If a physician offers his/her services based on employment contract, he/she may refrain from treatment only if there are serious reasons and after obtaining consent of his/her supervisor. In the event of withdrawal from treatment, the doctor is obliged to justify his/her decision and record it in medical documentation. Provision of the Patients’ Rights Act states that the patient, their statutory representative or actual guardian have a right to obtain information regarding intention to withdraw treatment sufficiently early, as well as to obtain medical services from another physician or healthcare facility. The Code of Medical Ethics regulates these issues in a similar manner, stipulating that in particularly justified cases, the doctor may refrain from treatment, except for cases requiring urgent medical intervention. However he/she is obliged to denote different possibilities of obtaining medical help.