Doctors will be able to refuse to treat verbally or physically aggressive patients. Situations in which patients may be denied medical care

Doctors will be able to refuse to provide medical care if a patient or their relatives are verbally or physically aggressive, or if the patient exhibits a “hostile or disrespectful attitude towards the doctor”. The provisions appear in the new Code of Medical Ethics, developed by the Romanian College of Physicians, according to information obtained by HotNews.

The Code of Medical Ethics is to be published in the Official Gazette and will enter into force on January 1, 2026, after it was adopted by the National General Assembly of the College of Physicians.

Its provisions are mandatory for all doctors who are members of the College of Doctors, as well as for doctors who have the right to provide, temporarily or occasionally, medical services on the territory of Romania.

The doctor must explain to the patient the reasons for the refusal

With the exception of life-threatening medical-surgical emergencies, doctors may refuse to provide medical care to patients in the following situations:

• if this is likely to affect his professional independence, or his image is not in line with the exercise of the profession;
• if a patient or his relatives are verbally and/or physically aggressive;
• if the patient shows a hostile and/or irreverent attitude towards the doctor;
• if he is asked to perform a medical act inconsistent with his moral values ​​based on the conscience clause, declared annually in writing to the Territorial College, recommending the patient to go to another doctor.
• if the patient or his legal representative requests the performance of illegal medical acts or contrary to ethical principles.

In all these situations, the doctor must explain to the patient or his legal representative the reasons for the refusal to provide medical care.

With the exception of life-threatening medical-surgical emergencies, the doctor can refuse to take on a new patient “only in situations where his professional capacity is exceeded, and this would affect the quality of care. The decision must be medically and professionally justified, not subjective or arbitrary”, the new Code of Ethics also states.

Likewise, the doctor's refusal “must be expressed in a respectful, non-discriminatory manner and properly justified.”

In addition, the doctor “will support the patient in identifying a reasonable alternative for taking care”, whenever this is possible, the Code of Ethics also states.

New rules for communication in the public space and medical advertising

The new Code of Medical Ethics also brings the obligation of doctors to respect “the principle of medicine based on scientific evidence, as well as to promote medical opinions and messages based on scientific evidence, on verifiable scientific truth, generally accepted and supported by the modern academic medical community, in accordance with the legislation in force, within the limits of the specialty and medical skills held”.

According to the document, “the use of a doctor's professional authority to accredit unverified, pseudoscientific or contrary to current medical knowledge, unfounded on scientific evidence or verifiable scientific truth, with the potential to affect public health constitutes unethical facts.”

The information transmitted by doctors in the public space must be “correct, verifiable and neutral, eliminating promises, comparisons or any form of advertising that could affect the dignity of the profession”.

At the same time, “accepted communication channels are clarified and rules of responsibility for the use of social networks are established, so that the image of the medical profession is protected and the public receives correct information based on scientific evidence”, according to the College of Doctors.