Should Doctors Institute Weight Limits for Patients?
Dr. Helen Carter is no longer accepting patients who weigh over 200 pounds or have a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30. What do you think about her new rule?
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Should doctors be able to institute weight limits for patients as a way of avoiding injuries, or is this discrimination against people who may need help?
The question stems from Dr. Helen Carter, a Worcester-based doctor is no longer accepting new patients who are obese, according to WBUR—specifically, patients who weigh over 200 pounds or have a Body Mass Index (BMI) over 30.
Carter told WBUR that her new policy is "self-preservation," instituted because another doctor in her practice had been seriously injured pulling out the exam table foot rest for a patient who weighed 280 pounds.
The policy isn't discriminatory, Carter told WBUR, because patients have access to other doctors in the area, including some facilities that cater to patients who need to tackle weight loss. She is also not dismissing any current patients who don't meet her standards, saying that the policy "give them a goal ... the problem with obesity is it has become socially acceptable."
Read the full report at WBUR and tell us: Do you think it's fair for Carter to institute such a policy at her private practice for safety reasons? Or does it discriminate against people who need help from a doctor? Tell us your reaction in the comments below.
[Editor's note: This item is posted on all Boston Patch sites.]
Max "Jay" P.
11:29 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
to paraphrase Wyndham Lewis, "The Fat, Are They Human?"
David Ertischek
11:42 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Without knowing legality on the issue - I think it's within every private practice doctor's rights to reject a possible patient, although a weight limit seems to be go against the oath of a doctor to help.
mplo
11:53 am on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Without knowing either the legality or the real facts of this issue, it seems to me that a doctor who takes an oath has also pledged to help a patient in some way or other, even if it's by referring a patient that s/he is unable to treat herself, to some sort of a specialist who can treat this particular patient.
Sara Jacobi
12:28 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
This particular doctor is saying that helping people should come second to her own safety. In a vacuum, sure, I agree. But how much do obese patients really put her safety at risk, and how much does her rejection of obese patients put them at risk??
David Ertischek
12:50 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Seriously, can't the doc just ask the client to take out the table?
Bob Samson
12:45 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
The affects on Political Fat Cats?
P.McD.
3:14 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Fat people?? There is no fat people around here
Kathy G
8:22 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
I'd say she has a discrimination lawsuit waiting to happen. Would it be okay not to take patients who have AIDS because of safety concerns? No. Many people with obesity are disabled due to their obesity (difficulty walking, lifting, bending). The Americans with Disabilities Act requires equal opportunity, particularly to medical care, for anyone who has a disability.
Phil Lindsay
11:02 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
As someone hovering around 200 what day would she see me or not? Is it with my clothing on over 200 or down to my skivvies 196? MY BMI is less than 30 and at 6 feet tall I'm not technically 'obese' until I hit about 215. So anyone taller than 6 feet tall who is a bit overweight would be eliminated. She would never take a professional athlete either since many of them are technically 'obese' per the height to weight charts I've seen. In fact she wouldn't take George Clooney either. It sounds arbitrary and capricious. I'd agree with Kathy G related to a potential law suit. That said, I wouldn't want someone like that to be my doctor, so it would be good to know.
Sara Jacobi
11:58 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Phil, that's a great point. Most athletes (especially female athletes) are in the "overweight" category according to BMI. As anyone who weight lifts knows, you can actually be quite fit but weigh much more than someone who "looks" heavier than you are due to the amount of muscle you have. Body fat testing would be a much more accurate picture. 200 pounds seems pretty arbitrary, especially like you said, for taller and larger men.
melinda tillie
11:38 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
Ithink that all people really have to do better in taking care of themselves. There are way too many diseases like Diabetes which can be controlled by diet. Now, if you eat yourself to death then go to the doctor they should be able to say yes or no...because you could have prevented this in most cases in the first place.
Sara Jacobi
11:55 am on Thursday, September 13, 2012
But if you're going to the doctor and looking for help (trying to make a healthy change) should you be turned away, saying "sorry, you did this to yourself, and now you're screwed"? I also just can't see how much it endangers the doctor's safety so much to treat an overweight patient.
Carol J. Thompson
2:38 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
There are many reasons why people become overweight including medications they have to take. Diabetes cannot always be controlled with diet and exercise before or after you get it.
karen harris
6:16 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
If a doctor is that insensitive I wouldn't want to go to her for anything!
Just a person!
6:37 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
check this out !
http://www.bennettllc.com/index_Page438.htm
did you know that?
Thanks CNC
Mary Jane Nevin
8:20 pm on Thursday, September 13, 2012
This person refuses to treat a patient in need because they dont like or approve of the patient's physical condition??? How sad that this person actually calls themself a doctor and is licensed to treat real patients!!! People with any common sense will run as fast as they can to get away from this doctor!...as they should!!
justmaybe
5:45 am on Friday, September 14, 2012
If a lawyer can refuse to represent a client, why can a dr (which is far more valuable to society) be required by law or oath to endanger herself?