Clinicians often avoid diagnosing domestic maltreatment.
One study of emergency-room patients found that only 1 in 35 female patients had been diagnosed as victims of battering, even though medical charts indicated 1 in 4 had probably been abused. Based on the results of emergency department studies and similar findings elsewhere, the AMA's House of Delegates, at its 1991 interim meeting, adopted special family violence ethical considerations. For example, physicians who treat victims' injuries do not promote well-being if they avoid reporting the abuse and simply send the patients back into often escalating, abusive relationships. For example, when physicians diagnose abuse as something else, they may provide inappropriate and potentially harmful treatment, such as tranquilizers that make victims less alert and more vulnerable to assault. Inc. All Rights Reserved.