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The pediatrician in this interaction worked to build a therapeutic alliance with the mother of her minor patient. The mother responded. Later, the mother’s anxiety for her son’s condition caused her to discount the shared decision-making process and to cast blame on the pediatrician. The pediatrician’s documentation of her discussions with the mother clarified the events in this case, helping to get the lawsuit dismissed.

In this interaction, a patient’s ethnic background and limited English proficiency obstructed her care. Instead of taking steps to facilitate communication, the physician continued only with his established treatment plan and methods, failing to appreciate the value of the patient’s contribution to or understanding of her care. This contributed to the physician failing to treat the patient fairly and a poor outcome.

Patients have a right to expect that their private medical information will be kept confidential. In this interaction, a physician was ultimately responsible for a confidentiality breach — an ethically and legally inappropriate action.

This interaction involves a situation in which a physician allowed a compromise of professional boundaries in several ways. He acquiesced to a patient’s inappropriate requests for narcotics, and he entered into a romantic relationship with the patient. In the end, the physician paid a great price for his actions.

In this interaction, a patient rejected a particular recommendation from his physician. Although the patient continued to see the physician for other matters, he declined a referral to a urologist. Thus, this case explores ethical ideas associated with a patient’s refusal of treatment.