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Too much medicine not enough trust?: A response

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Published
<mark>Journal publication date</mark>30/11/2019
<mark>Journal</mark>Journal of Medical Ethics
Issue number11
Volume45
Number of pages2
Pages (from-to)746-747
Publication StatusPublished
Early online date18/07/19
<mark>Original language</mark>English

Abstract

In their paper 'Too much medicine: not enough trust?' Zoë Fritz and Richard Holton explore the connection between trust and overtreatment and overinvestigation. Whilst their paper is insightful, here I argue that much more could be made of a doctor's (mis)trust and how this exacerbates overtreatment and overinvestigation. By taking Fritz and Holton's view of trust as having 'our best interests at heart' as my starting point, I argue that doctor's do not always trust that patients or the system has their interests at heart and so use overtreatment and overinvestigation to protect themselves. I also point to the tensions created by a lack of trust on the doctor's part as a focal point for much needed sustained ethical analysis.

Bibliographic note

© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2019. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.