AEGiS-AP: Study: Many Doctors Would Like to Decline Treating AIDS Patients

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1991. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Study: Many Doctors Would Like to Decline Treating AIDS Patients

The Associated Press; Wednesday, November 27, 1991

CHICAGO - Nearly one-third of general physicians see nothing wrong with declining to treat patients who have the AIDS virus, a new study indicates.

But American Medical Association spokesmen countered that physicians who refuse should be candidates for disciplinary action, including possible loss of their licenses.

A survey of 1,121 randomly selected general physicians nationwide last year found 75 percent had treated at least one patient with human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS.

Sixty-eight percent "believed that they had a responsibility to treat people with HIV infection, yet half indicated that they would not, if given a choice," researchers said.

If 68 percent feel responsible to treat HIV patients, nearly one-third "perceive no ethical difficulty with denying medical care" to them, said an editorial accompanying the study in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.

The study sought to identify barriers in treating HIV patients, said Barbara Gerbert, lead author and head of behavioral sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Dentistry.

Those barriers include fear of homosexuals, who make up almost two-thirds of cases, and aversion to treating intravenous drug users, another high-risk group, Gerbert said Tuesday.

Copyright 1991/The Associated Press. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, The Associated Press, 50 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10020.
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Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 1991. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

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