Is it OK for doctors to give different advice based on who you are?

My wife has a law degree. Many years ago, when she was pregnant with my daughters it was recommended she get a 'scan' to rule out possible birth defects (I don't remember the type of 'scan', it could have been MRI, CAT, or something else).

We were referred by her ob/gyn to a radiologist. We called the radiologist to discuss concerned about subjecting fetuses to the scan. He said he 'normally would have no problem recommending the scan' and felt 'confident that there was no danger to the fetuses'. However, BECAUSE MY WIFE WAS A LAWYER he refused to do the scan. He flat out said he was concerned she would sue him if there were any problems or complications.

Is this ethical? It is acceptable for a doctor to edit their opinions or recommend against treatment because of the job their patients?

(We often wondered if we could have sued him anyway for making this statement)

Answers:
If your wife has a law degree and is a lawyer, why are you asking this question on Y!A instead of to her?
A doctor can refuse treatment, this is a free country. You guys must have gone into the office with a very suspicious attitude and the doctor picked up on it.
If you weren't the doctor's patient, but asking to become one, the doctor is not obligated to treat you.
A doctor can refuse treatment to anyone for any reason, Except in a life threatening situation.
It was probably back when they were first starting to hear about birth defects due to high levels of radiation and he was just covering his butt in case the baby was born with a defect. People are too "Sue Happy" these days. You cannot sue someone because they made a comment like that.
Is it OK for doctors to give different advice based on who you are? The short answer is "yes."

When I injured my knee at the age of 30 and went to an orthopaedic, he asked questions to determine if it's worth the effort. He wanted to know if I was active or sedentary, for example.

But later you asked if it is ethical to refuse to help someone because of the type of job they have. I don't know if radiologists have something like the Hypocratic Oath that they take. If they don't, I consider this type of segregation to be the same as pharmacists that don't distribute birth control because it's against their religion.

To ME, both of those people are wrong. However, maybe there is some ability to deny service if this is an independent business.

I would contact the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint.
Your wife is a lawyer, if what the radiologist did was a problem, I'm sure that she would have had the papers drawn up that day. Since nobody's life was at stake, I see no problem with a little self preservation.
Ethical? Maybe not given the Hippocratic Oath. Legal? Certainly. You suffered no harm and were always free to go to another physician.
A doctor DOES have the right to protect himself. As long as he didnt' refuse treatment because of race, religion or ethnicity, he did nothing illegal or unethical. Your wife's life was in no immediate danger so he was not obligated to provide any treatment at all. Just because one doctor felt a scan was advisable doesn't mean another will automatically agree.
Although your wife may not be an expert is this sort of law, she must have learned enough in law school to have a sense of what the law is on this. At the very least, she should have an idea where to get the answer.

That said, the answer to the question is that it's fairly common. While a doctor is supposed to treat patients without respect to things like profession, it's a valid concern.

A doctor is not required to treat someone, in a non-life threatening situation. This was not the case, so the doctor has no obligation. Legally or within the moral code of the medical profession.

You can always sue, but the question is: would you win? In front of a jury, the doctor's lawyer will argue that your wife was unwilling to accept the risks inherent in the scan. He'll produce expert witnesses that will show the frequency of problems resulting from such a scan and have graphs that show that the incidence of "nuisance" claims against doctors come disproportionaly from lawyers.

The mere fact that you suggest suing a doctor for refusing the scan proves the doctor's point!
Certainly what the doctor did was legal, but it seems to me that it was unethical and kinda rude to treat you that way because you "might sue if there were complications." He can obviously refuse to treat just about anyone for just about any reason.

Then again, if he thinks there are going to be complications in any woman's body (lawyer or not), then there was your answer. Maybe that was a nice way of him to tell you that the scan wasn't a good idea.

Your wife already knows, even though she doesn't do that type of law, that you can't sue someone when you haven't suffered any damages. I don't think that his refusal put your babies in danger, but certainly, if you can prove that it did, then obviously that's another story.

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