Abstract

MCQUOID-MASON, David. Medical ethics and the payment of fees before treatment. SAMJ, S. Afr. med. j. [online]. 2011, vol.101, n.11, pp. 798-799. ISSN 0256-9574.

Whether it is ethically acceptable for doctors to require payment of fees before treatment depends on interpretation of the ethical rules of the profession, the circumstances of the doctor-patient relationship, the urgency of the patient's need for treatment, and whether refusal to treat before payment represents abandonment of a patient.