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J Med Ethics 2008;34:715-716 doi:10.1136/jme.2007.023341
  • Clinical ethics

Personality disorder and competence to refuse treatment

  1. E Winburn1,
  2. R Mullen2
  1. 1
    Otago District Health Board, Dunedin, New Zealand
  2. 2
    Department of Psychological Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, Dunedin, New Zealand
  1. Dr E Winburn, Otago District Health Board, Private Bag 1921, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand; liz.winburn{at}otagodhb.govt.nz
  • Received 29 September 2007
  • Revised 13 January 2008
  • Accepted 24 January 2008

Abstract

The traditional view that having a personality disorder, unlike other mental disorders, is not usually reason enough to consider a person incompetent to make healthcare decisions is challenged. The example of a case in which a woman was treated for a physical disorder without her consent illustrates that personality disorder can render a person incompetent to refuse essential treatment, particularly because it can affect the doctor–patient relationship within which consent is given.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: None declared.

Responses to this article

  • Personality disorder is not grounds to consider a person incompetent to make healthcare decisions
    • Christopher J Ryan,
    • Tarra Shaw
    J Med Ethics published online October 15, 2008

This Article

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