This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
WHEN YOUR DR. SHOULD TELL YOU TO GO TAKE A HIKE
Should part of the informed consent discussion include your physician’s telling you that you would get better care elsewhere? That is the subject of a fascinating article in today’s NY Times . Reporter Denise Grady discusses the awkward situation that can arise when your local surgeon, for example, should tell you that your rectal cancer would be better addressed at a big-city teaching hospital, despite your wish to remain close to home. Is the surgeon obligated to do so? Good question.
Ms. Grady provides a couple of useful links for people faced with decisions regarding surgeries. You can find out how well (or poorly) a hospital does in performing operations, and treating illnesses, at www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov . Additionally, you can find information on hospital infection rates in some states at www.hospitalinfection.org .