Doctors Refusing to Treat Overweight Patients

[Muddy]

From the South Florida Sun-Sentinel: Fifteen obstetrics-gynecology practices out of 105 polled by the Sun Sentinel said they have set weight limits for new patients.




Some of the doctors said the main reason was their exam tables or other equipment can't handle people over a certain weight, but at least six said heavy women run a higher risk of complications.
"People don't realize the risk we're taking by taking care of these patients," the newspaper quoted Dr. Albert Triana of South Miami as saying. "There's more risk of something going wrong and more risk of getting sued. Everything is more complicated with an obese patient in GYN surgeries and in [pregnancies]," he told the newspaper.
It is not illegal for doctors to refuse overweight patients, but it has medical ethicists worried. So far, the weight cutoffs have been enacted only by South Florida ob-gyns, who have long complained about high numbers of lawsuits after difficult births and high rates for medical-malpractice insurance.

[Deepsepia]

Is an alarmingly common problem now. You've got huge issues with nursing staff getting injured trying to handle obese patients, and big costs in all kinds of equipment to deal with supersize Americans.

Obstetrics is particularly challenging-- ultrasound doesn't work well through fat.

The simple answer is that if women want to have healthy babies, they should get themselves to a healthy weight.

[Muddy]

I can understand someone being overweight... It's the obese thing that baffles me with people....

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I can understand someone being overweight... It's the obese thing that baffles me with people....

No kidding....it's one thing to be 20 or 30 or even 40 lbs overweight, but you see some people that are easily 150+ pounds overweight. I can't imagine letting myself go like that. Didn't it ever occur to them that maybe they shouldn't be having 4 Big Macs every night for dinner?

[Muddy]

Just look at the girl in the picture... Really girl? Are the cookies that fucking good??

[Acid Trip]

The gym I go to has a couple tanning beds for members to use. Last week BOTH beds were out of order. Why? Fat asses had broken the thick plastic that separates the person from the bulbs.

Replacing plastic on a tanning bed isn't a huge deal but medical equipment is much, much more expensive. It's even more infuriating that people are suing doctors because their fat ass was causing pregnancy complications that could have been avoided. I hope these doctors don't face to big a backlash for turning people away. It's well within their rights and they are only doing what they think is best for their practice.

[Deepsepia]

I hope these doctors don't face to big a backlash for turning people away. It's well within their rights and they are only doing what they think is best for their practice.

They shouldn't face repercussions. Most OB/Gyns don't treat "high risk" pregnancies . . . and that's logical. Obese, diabetic, have cancer, have lupus-- all kinds of unusual pregnancy risks go to folks specializing in high risk pregnancies. Makes sense for everyone-- someone specializing in obese patients can invest in the specialized equipment that can help make their pregnancies safer, a guy who only sees a few can't afford stuff like an exam table that can hold a 450 pound woman . . .

[Acid Trip]

They shouldn't face repercussions. Most OB/Gyns don't treat "high risk" pregnancies . . . and that's logical. Obese, diabetic, have cancer, have lupus-- all kinds of unusual pregnancy risks go to folks specializing in high risk pregnancies. Makes sense for everyone-- someone specializing in obese patients can invest in the specialized equipment that can help make their pregnancies safer, a guy who only sees a few can't afford stuff like an exam table that can hold a 450 pound woman . . .

Better up that to 600-700 lbs.