Parents always have the intentions of performing the best decisions for their children, but in many cases, due to some reasons, if they might try to compromise with their children’s health, then in such scenarios, what should a doctor do? Here in this segment, we are going to discuss the question of whether a doctor should provide medical care to a minor in that case or not?
What can things make the parents not give medical care?
Many things can make the parents not to have given medical care to their children. Many conditions can make up the parent’s mind against the doctor’s decision. This could be because of;
- Religious factors that may be in some religions, doing certain medical practices can be an objectionable thing. It can make their child suffer a lot due to several misbeliefs and delusions.
- Parents can take their decisions against medical care due to getting stuck because of some stereotypes.
- Because of fear of risk factors of life-saving treatments, sometimes parents are scared of performing major surgeries on their children. They do not realise that it is being done for the sake of their child’s life.
Laws about doctor-patient medical care decision for the child:
Let’s discuss some significant laws;
- According to health care departments, doctors cannot take decisions if the children are not above 18 years. The child who is an adult can take their decision by their understanding and knowledge.
- For children who face severe medical care issues by the wrong decision of their parents, doctors have the right to inform legal authorities about giving the child proper medical assistance.
What to do when conflict occurs between doctor and parents?
When the doctor realises that parents are not making a decision in their child’s best interest and a conflict arises, the doctor should think and work to find out the main reason for war and why variance is being derived. Some significant points should be considered while resolving the conflict.
- First of all, physicians should consider that family is working in the benevolence of children, and if he feels that the children are getting malicious acts due to his parents, then the physician has the right to take action.
- Secondly, physicians should be aware of their decisions that it will have lasting implications on the family and the children; therefore, decisions should be made in the family and children’s best interest.
- Thirdly in disagreement, physicians should be given credit as they have more knowledge related to disease and medical problems.
So, in our opinion, doctors should be able to provide medical care if they present factual claims and proofs against parents’ decisions because parents may lack in taking the proper determination of medical health related to their child due to inadequate medical knowledge. We have to make the child safe and healthy for this world. Because they are the future of this world.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2720466/
https://www.healthline.com/health-news/parents-beliefs-about-medicine-child-abuse
