You still haven't answered the basic question: What else could he have actually done, given that the woman wasn't interested in having a conversation - just the answer to a yes or no question.
If the other party is unwilling to have a conversation (to the point where she attempts to leave when he won't give the binary answer), there simply is no way to "look for reasons why it doesn't work". The doctor shows his willingness and interest in having a discussion at the end, where he supports her asking of a non-binary question. What's most unfortunate in this tale of what it took to get to the patient to that place.
By the time she's in the doctor's office, there's not enough time to undo all the damage. The doctor cannot change her mind in a 15 minute visit, let alone build up her trust.
This is a false dilemma. It takes time to fix this sort of thing. Unilaterally shutting her out is probably the worst thing the doctor could do.
> Unilaterally shutting her out is probably the worst thing the doctor could do.
Really? That's what she has done to her doctor. She's chosen a life of potential suffering and death for her children because she wasn't paying attention. If someone has ignored the internet ads, billboards, magazine reports, news articles, and their own doctor, they're not going to change their tune just because someone prettied up the message bit (even though that's exactly what people have been doing for years now, plenty of examples if you look for them).
In the end, I think shutting her out is the best course of action in this story, if only for the children. And for her - it's shaken up her life enough to make her start asking interesting questions.
If the other party is unwilling to have a conversation (to the point where she attempts to leave when he won't give the binary answer), there simply is no way to "look for reasons why it doesn't work". The doctor shows his willingness and interest in having a discussion at the end, where he supports her asking of a non-binary question. What's most unfortunate in this tale of what it took to get to the patient to that place.