All Articles Tagged "Dr. Helen Carter"

Is This Fair? Massachusetts Woman Denied Medical Treatment Because Of Her Weight

August 27th, 2012 - By Victoria Uwumarogie
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Source: ABC News

When Ida Davidson of Shrewsbury, Mass. went to see primary care physician Dr. Helen Carter, of the UMass Memorial Medical Center, I’m sure that like most people, she thought she could get help from the doctor to help diagnose a health concern or just talk about health issues. However, she received the shock of her life when Dr. Carter refused to treat her because of the fact that she’s clinically obese. At 5’7 and 247 pounds, Davidson admitted that she was a bit overweight, but never imagined that she would be turned away by a doctor because of it. As she told Massachusetts news station WCBV-TV:

“I can’t believe and I did say that out loud, ‘I can’t believe you guys just said that to me.’  I have never heard anything so ridiculous in my life…She’s like, ‘You gained weight, are your feet swollen, are your feet swollen?’ I said ‘No.’ She was really obsessed about the whole thing and me being in her office and she didn’t want to care for me.”

And Dr. Carter doesn’t deny Davidson’s claims. In fact, she stands by her refusal, pointing out that after a few of the employees were injured in the health center caring for heavier patients, they’ve decided to put restrictions in place when it comes to the weight of those they care for. “After three consecutive injuries (with other patients) trying to care for people over 250 pounds, my office is unable to accommodate a certain weight and we put a limit on it.” However, according to the New York Daily News, Dr. Carter also wanted people to know that while she may have denied treatment to the woman, the UMass Memorial Medical Center also has an obesity center with more resources and capabilities to provide health checks and diagnose the health issues of patients who are overweight.

If you are one of many people who felt this doctor was in the wrong and basically pooped all over the concept of the hippocratic oath, you should know that being selective in the patients doctors decide to take on is not illegal in the eyes of the American Medical Association. As pointed out through the Ethics and Judicial Affairs policy via WCBV-TV:
“Both patients and physicians should be able to exercise freedom in whom to enter into a patient-physician relationship … physicians do not give up their freedom of association by merely becoming professionals.”
However, The New York Daily News also spoke to medical ethicist Arthur Caplan, and he wasn’t a fan of the concept of turning obese patients away, even if the AMA sees nothing wrong with it. “I think you have a duty to try and work with people no matter what their health issues are. Simply saying, ‘I’m not gonna take someone who’s obese,’ is, I think, not the way to approach the whole challenge of obesity, either for that person or for any American.”
I’m sorry, but when I look at Ms. Davidson, unless she was going to do a high dive off a counter in the clinic and needed to be caught by doctors at the UMass Memorial Medical Center, I don’t see why her weight was more important than helping her with whatever issues she has. I’m all for people helping people understand the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, but this is just a tad bit bogus in my book. Make that very bogus. But then again, I’m not a practicing physician like Dr. Carter, and the AMA finds it to be an ethical practice, so who am I to throw shade? But still…I’m pulling the bogus card.
What do you think? Was Dr. Carter wrong for denying Ida Davidson the treatment she was hoping for?

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