Responding to Patients Who Refuse to Wear Masks During the Covid-19 Pandemic

Excerpt

As states around the country begin lifting restrictions put in place to slow the spread of Covid-19, public health officials are calling for universal masking in crowded spaces, such as grocery stores, pharmacies, and hospitals. SARS-CoV-2 spreads person-to-person through close contact and despite current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control recommending face masks, only a third of Americans wear a mask outside.¹ With concerningly low rates of the public embracing the recommendation to wear a face mask, patients around the country are showing up at healthcare facilities without masks and some are refusing to wear one. This leaves healthcare professionals with the difficult decision of whether or not to treat patients who do not adhere to masking guidelines. We provide an ethical analysis of the duty to treat patients who refuse to wear a mask and argue that there are justifiable limits on this obligation. We also provide guidance for how clinicians can respond to patients who refuse to wear a mask, encouraging patient engagement and offering the alternative of care through telehealth. …