| Futility, conscientious refusal, and who gets to decide. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 18662950 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Most discussions of medical futility try to answer the Futility Question: when is a medical procedure futile? No answer enjoys universal support. Some futility policies say that the health care provider will answer this question when the provider and patient (or surrogate decisionmaker) cannot agree. This raises the Decision Question: who has the moral authority to decide what to do in cases where futility is disputed? I look for a procedural answer to this question, an answer that does not turn on whether a given party happens to answer the Futility Question correctly. I argue that these policies get it right; the provider should decide because providers have a right of conscientious refusal that extends to refusing procedures on grounds of futility. This is a procedural answer because providers have this right even if they are sincerely mistaken about whether a procedure is futile. |
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Authors:
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John K Davis |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: The Journal of medicine and philosophy Volume: 33 ISSN: 1744-5019 ISO Abbreviation: J Med Philos Publication Date: 2008 Aug |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2008-07-29 Completed Date: 2008-10-03 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 7610512 Medline TA: J Med Philos Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 356-73 Citation Subset: E; IM |
Affiliation:
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J.D., Department of Philosophy, California State University, Fullerton, PO Box 6848, Fullerton, CA 92834, USA. johndavis@fullerton.edu |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Decision Making* Ethics, Medical* Humans Medical Futility* Organizational Policy Patient Transfer Physician-Patient Relations Refusal to Treat* Treatment Refusal* |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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