The subject of my March issue editorial, “A Weighty Responsibility,” posed the question: Do physicians have a moral obligation to treat obese patients? I argued that they do. If you missed my commentary and would like to read it, you’ll find it on the Axis Imaging News website. (Visit this link: http://www.imagingeconomics.com/resource-center/19749-a-weighty-responsibility)

Naturally, not everyone agrees with my perspective. Below is a letter I received from a Louisiana-based radiologist and an Axis Imaging News reader.

If you have a point-of-view about “A Weighty Responsibility” or any of the articles published in Axis Imaging News, send your letter to the editor to [email protected]. Thank you.

—M. Matthews/Chief Editor

 

Letter to the Editor                                                                                                              

I am writing to respond to your commentary, “A Weighty Responsibility.”  While I acknowledge that obesity is a serious health problem and that obesity should be treated by medical professionals, I feel that physicians have a right to refuse to treat certain patients. My colleagues tell me that they dismiss patients from their practices for non-compliance. When I interpret an imaging study ordered on a morbidly obese patient, often in the middle of the night from the Emergency Department, I often wonder: If the patient does not care about their health, why should I? However, I do treat all patients with the same care and attention to detail. However, I do think patients need to be responsible for their health and act accordingly. As you mentioned in your commentary, “the study forecasts $550 billion in health care spending from now to 2030 as a result of rising obesity.” Is it fair that the normal, ie, non-obese segment of the population, subsidize the health care costs for the obese (which is largely a self-induced condition)? Is it fair that I pay a surcharge on an airline when my luggage is 5 pounds over the weight limit, yet a 300-pound passenger sits next to me and pays the same fare? I believe that a carrot and stick approach is needed. Let’s make our cities more liveable by having walking paths, bicycle paths for commuting, and make physical education mandatory for K-12 education. Then, let’s have a height/weight chart and have the obese pay a surcharge for health insurance, airline travel, etc. I feel your commentary had an air of political correctness to it and ignores the very important issue of patient responsibility for their own health care.

Sincerely,

V.T., Louisiana

 

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