About Alcoholism - Alcoholism Information, Research and Treatment

The physician's role in hospital admission of an alcoholic patient under some other diagnosis was criticized by Dr. Marvin A. Block, assistant professor of clinical medicine at the State University of New York in Buffalo. In Medical World News, Dr. Block said, "This is unfair to the family, the hospital, the nursing staff, and the patient. It helps the patient deny the problem, and the patient has been doing this for years." On occasion, Dr. Block suggested, the physician's attitude may not be entirely unprejudiced. "It's very difficult for a doctor to label anyone alcoholic who drinks less than he (the doctor) does."