When Religion and Medicine Clash

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Religion and spirituality play an important role in the recovery process for many patients. But when religious beliefs and medicine clash, what role should the doctor take?

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Rebecca Fox: Religion and spirituality play an important role in the recovery process for many patients. But when religious beliefs in medicine clash, what role should the doctor take? To help to answer that question, family practice physician, Doctor Thaddeus Bell joins us now in the studio and Dr. Bell, thank you so much for joining us.

Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Thank you very much for having me again, Rebecca.

Rebecca Fox: I've heard of cases where patients have refused treatment because of their religious views. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses are known to oppose blood transfusions because of their beliefs. What are your experiences been like?

Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Well first of all, people need to know that not enough who said that of my practices African-American and it is not unusual to have Africans-Americans come in and get diagnosed with having a major medical problem. Everything from cancer to diabetes to hypertension to depression and they will often times going to wait on the Lord and let the Lord heal him.

What I always do in a situation like that is I have to remind and explain to many African-American that often times have employed the help of their spiritual leader to get them to help me explain to the patient that medicine is a miracle of God, that physicians are often times guided by a divine healing and then the medicine. Many of the modern treatments that come because God has given man the knowledge and I think that my experience has been when it is explained in that fashion the African-American patients that I have had the opportunity to have that experience with are more accepting.

We’ve even had suggested to some of my religious men they should preach on that from the pulpit and so that has been very helpful. Regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses, that is a different kind of problem because they were often times calm and want you to buy into their religious belief right before they even establish a relationship with you and so knowing that that is the document that they serve by I often times buy into that.

Now, it gets into a very serious issue when you have children who can't make that decision but with adult we do buy into that. I think that’s man said that the medical community uses in general.

Rebecca Fox: In those life or death situations when a patient absolutely refuses a needed treatment what is the role of the doctor?

Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Well, I think the role of the doctor, there are in many hospitals are known in all of the educational institutions. There is an ethics committee and sometimes when we are confronted with issues like this, these issues have to go before the ethics committee. The bottom line is that if a patient is unable to make that decision as to whether or not he’s going to accept the religion and put his health in jeopardy I think that the medical community would air on the side of saving the patient’s life because the patient if it is a small child who cannot make that decision, the hospital and the ethics committee have aired on the side of saving the child’s life.

But if it is an adult for example, a couple of years ago I had a young woman who was going to have a knee replacement. She prepared for it by saving her own blood which we were able to give back to her. And then when she got into some problems after the surgery was over, we were able to give her this new hormone shot which helps the bone marrow generate blood faster and that was acceptable.

So often times, we are able to get around the problem to the point that the patient is satisfied and doctor says that. But it does present an issue. I can tell you it does.

Rebecca Fox: So, what do you do with those patients who just choose to leave it up to faith?

Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Here again, we have to remember that patients have the right to make a decision about their own care and if they have decided that they want any life saving measures. They have decided after long illness they don’t want any thing erratic to be done and if they made that decision on their own at a time in which they were good, when their mind was cleared and they were in good conscious then they have to go along with that.

The problem that happens is that the patient will make up his mind and then you will have a family member who comes in and who wants to supersede but the patient has already decided. That’s going to be done and that’s where there is a lot of contention.

But for the most part, doctors will adhere to the living will. That’s what living will is all about. The patient along with the doctor says, “I want this done. I don’t want this done” and then he signs that document. Once that document is signed that’s what the hospital and that’s what the physician has to go by it and the hospital or family member can't come in.

The problem is the living will is often times not signed and therefore a daughter who doesn’t really know what the patient wants will say, “I want everything done for mama.” And mom has already told the doctor “When my time comes I want you to let me go.” That’s where contention takes place and it makes life very, very interesting in medical profession when we have to deal with those kinds of issues.

Rebecca Fox: I'm sure it’s an issue not a lot of people want to think about.

Dr. Thaddeus Bell: That’s right, the Chagall case that was similar to that. The husband wanted one thing. The parents wanted something else and then government got involved but it really should have not gone that far because in the real world those cases are pretty much solved.

Rebecca Fox: Dr. Bell, thank you so much for talking with us.

Dr. Thaddeus Bell: Thank you very much that you asked me.

Rebecca Fox: And you can watch more videos featuring Dr. Thaddeus Bell on ICYou.com. For ICYou on topic, I'm Rebecca Fox.