A third of specialist doctors refuse treatment for unhealthy lifestyles

Forty percent of medical specialists want to be able to refuse treatment for patients with an unhealthy lifestyle. This is according a survey done by Brandpunt in collaboration with the Federation of Medical Specialists among more than 1,500 specialists, NU reports. "It is an important signal that doctors are saying that they do not just want to intervene. They really want to make people better and there is more to it than surgery or treatment", according Marcel Daniels, cardiologist and director of the Federation of Medical Specialists. He stressed that this does not involve patients who are in acute danger - they will always be helped. According to the survey, 68 percent of specialists think that medical costs would go down by pointing out people's unhealthy lifestyles to them. 37 percent think that healthcare costs would decrease if they could refuse treatment to people with unhealthy lifestyles.