TL;DR
Everyone did everything right – and the patient died.
It’s important to note: Ofra’s sisters repeatedly explain why she refused to be hospitalized. According to them, her gynecologist, Dr. Mimi Hatman-Perry, threatened her that if she were hospitalized, the fact that she was ill would become known to everyone. In addition, she told her that she herself would go to prison for having treated Ofra at home.
But it’s always easiest to blame the deceased for their own death – and thus close the case.

The report of the committee for examining the medical treatment of the late Ms. Ofra Ashkenazi

After examining the case of the late Ofra Ashkenazi from all angles, and based on the evidence in its possession and the testimonies given, the committee concluded that there was no medical negligence and/or flaw in medical judgment or care during her hospitalization at Sheba Medical Center, which ended in her death.

Regarding the medical treatment she received shortly before her hospitalization, which was under the responsibility of Dr. Burk, the committee likewise does not consider it to be a case of medical negligence or error in the medical reasoning that guided Dr. Burk. The committee understands the considerable difficulty a physician faces when a patient stubbornly refuses hospitalization despite medical recommendations. The committee does not believe this case warranted forced treatment under the Patient Rights Act. There was no obligation to contact an ethics committee, and in the committee’s view, such contact would not have been appropriate in this particular case.

Nonetheless, the committee believes that if the deceased had been hospitalized earlier, it is quite likely that the deterioration in her condition could have been prevented – and possibly even her death. Indeed, the primary responsibility for not being hospitalized earlier rests with the deceased herself, who consciously and adamantly refused hospitalization despite feeling unwell for a relatively long period. It is also clear that her overwhelming fear of her HIV-positive status being discovered is what led her to act as she did – and in doing so, she disrupted the course and effectiveness of the necessary medical treatment. However, the committee believes that Dr. Burk did not take enough measures or additional steps that might have persuaded her to agree to earlier hospitalization. While this remains a theoretical question (whether she would have agreed had more pressure been applied), the committee was left with the impression that insufficient effort was made to convince her.

The committee found no fault in the medical conduct of Dr. Hatman-Perry. As stated, her involvement in the patient’s care was supportive and nursing in nature, as a friend – not as a treating physician. Her presence in the ICU at Sheba Medical Center was also as a friend who happened to be a doctor, not in a professional capacity as her physician.