Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
-
The treatment of the mentally retarded patient may raise dramatic ethical issues for the family physician. A case is used to illustrate an example of ethical decision-making and the moral issues explored.
-
Developments in genetic understanding place upon family physicians diagnostic, warning and referral responsibilities which the law reinforces. Professional standards of care and skill have a legal rather than a purely professional basis. Treatment options such as sterilization, abortion and artificial insemination by donor, compel practitioners' proper awareness of their legal and ethical responsibilities, particularly to respect patients' autonomy. This is better achieved through professional education than through litigation and legislation.
-
The challenge of the limping child demands that the primary care physician identify those problems which are urgent, when neglect can harm the child, and to provide appropriate supportive care for those which are not. The approach to the limping child should consider the child's age, whether or not the limp is painful, and certain key physical findings.
-
The hemostatic system consists of the subcutaneous tissue/vessel wall/platelet system and the coagulation cascade. Hemostasis occurs initially through the interaction between circulating platelets and subendothelial collagen, so that a platelet plug is formed. ⋯ The presence of the fibrin in the plug results in permanent hemostasis. The five tests of hemostasis - platelet count, bleeding time, partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time and Factor XIII assay - are described.