Appropriate Level of Expertise? (Primary Care/Specialty Care)
A primary care physician considers if s/he can competently provide treatment to a patient who may have a serious psychiatric disorder and does not wish to go to another doctor.
As a primary care physician, you have found your relationship with 24-year-old, Peter, both particularly challenging and particularly rewarding. When Peter first came to you at 18, after aging out of pediatric care, he was sullen and resentful, claiming he hated all doctors and “so- called helpers.” He has come to trust you over time, referring to you as “my good doc.”
- How much psychiatric evaluation should be considered within the scope of primary care?
- How do you decide between two targets of beneficence, ie. “Doing good” by maintaining patient trust and respecting patient comfort level with practitioners may be in tension with “doing good” by getting the most expert medical care for your patient?
- What are your options?
Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)
Source – Santa Clara University, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
