The doctor has the duty to continue a patient's healthcare after consenting to provide medical care unless the patient no longer requires treatment for the illness. The doctor must notify the patient and transfer care to another acceptable doctor if planning to withdraw care. The doctors may be charged with negligent abandonment for ending the relationship with the patient without appropriate referral, transfer, or discharge. Right to Refuse Care: The Patients can refuse care, but patients with an altered mental status because of alcohol, drugs, brain injury, or medical or psychiatric illness may not be able to make a competent decision; then the patient may need to have a person legally appointed to make medical decisions. But there is a thin
