I Want to See My Mother's Picture!

Abstract

A case study is presented involving the propriety of releasing to a 17-year-old girl medical information about her now-dead mother, including a photograph taken of the mother when she was terminally ill. The physician to whom the request was made was unaware that the daughter herself had medical and psychiatric problems. Soon afterward, the daughter attempted suicide. Two commentaries explore the nature of the relationship between the physician and the former patient's daughter, whether the dead patient's photograph should have been released, and whether the physician bears any responsibility for the daughter's subsequent suicide attempt. (KIE abstract)