Dialysis units are facing a growing number of patients who disrupt the smooth functioning of the unit and even jeopardize the health and safety of other patients and staff. Here, authors from West Virginia University outline a set of ethical principles that can assist dialysis staff to deal with difficult or disruptive patients while meeting their ethical obligations to other patients. These principles can also be used to identify the limited situations in which involuntary patient discharge from a dialysis unit is ethically justified.
