Involving Minors in Medical Decision Making: Understanding Ethical Issues in Assent and Refusal of Care by Minors

2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (05) ◽  
pp. 533-538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Lang ◽  
Erin Paquette
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Patient Relationship

AbstractWhen caring for minors, the clinician–patient relationship becomes more ethically complex by the inclusion of parents in the clinician–parent–patient triad. As they age, children become more capable of participating in the decision-making process. This involvement may lead them to either accept or refuse proposed care, both of which are ethically acceptable positions when the minor's capacity to participate in decision making is carefully considered in the context of their age, development, and overall health. Certain conditions may be more likely to impact their capacity for participation, but it is important for clinicians to avoid categorical presumption that minors of a certain age or with certain conditions are incapable of participating in decisions regarding their care. Understanding the ethical bases for decision making in pediatric patients and considerations for the involvement of minors who both assent to and refuse proposed treatment will equip clinicians to respect the growing autonomy of minor patients.

Overview of Legal Issues in Psychiatry

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy D. Gunter
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Forensic Psychiatry ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Patient Relationship ◽  
Treatment Provider ◽  
Regulatory Issues

Psychiatrists routinely encounter legal and regulatory issues in the practice of psychiatry. This review provides an overview of the psychiatrist’s duties and responsibilities in the doctor-patient relationship and common legal issues arising in clinical practice, with reference to US statutory and regulatory practices. The field of forensic psychiatry is described, and the roles of the forensic evaluator and the treatment provider are compared. This review contains 2 figures, 5 tables, and 64 references. Key words: civil commitment, confidentiality, duty to third parties, forensic psychiatry, guardianship, gun ownership, medical decision making, medical marijuana, risk assessment 

Incorporating patient preferences and priorities into end-of-life care.

2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (29_suppl) ◽  
pp. 41-41
Author(s):  
Eric Rackow ◽  
Afua Ofori ◽  
Wendy Rodkey ◽  
Roy A. Beveridge
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Case Managers ◽  
Readiness For Change ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Life Care

41 Background: Patients with advanced illness often face painful conversations and difficult decisions. A program was deployed to help patients identify, communicate, and incorporate their personal preferences and priorities into decisions about their care. The program was assessed by measuring movement along the readiness for change continuum. Methods: Patients residing in the home and participating in a chronic care program were referred by their case managers based on clinical conditions and whether the patient appeared to be in their last 12 months of life. Counseling sessions with patients or family caregiver/s were designed to move participants toward the following actions: be fully informed about their medical situation, describe their detailed quality of life priorities, articulate a self-defined medical decision making process, effectively communicate to their family and physicians, and implement and repeat the aforementioned steps. After 5 months (Sept-2014 to Feb-2015), movement along the readiness for change continuum (pre-contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and advocacy) was reported. Results: Of the 427 patients referred, 33 could not be reached, 116 were ineligible, 50 declined or did not engage. Of the 228 participants, 191 (84%) moved at least one step in readiness for change continuum over the 5-month period. In Nov-2014, 13% of participants were in action, maintenance, or advocacy, which increased to 19% by Feb-2015. The largest observed movement to action, maintenance, or advocacy was in defining quality of life priorities: 2% Nov-2014 to 21% Feb-2015. The least movement to action, maintenance, or advocacy was observed in articulating a self-defined medical decision making process: 3% Nov-2014 to 16% Feb-2015. Case managers reported discomfort in referring members based on their assessment of length of life. Early surveys show high levels of satisfaction. Conclusions: A very high percentage of patients progressed in incorporating their preferences and priorities into end of life care as measured by the readiness to change continuum. This program is currently expanding and the referral process is changing from case manager to algorithm based identification referrals.

scholarly journals Application of a computerized medical decision-making process to the problem of digoxin intoxication

1984 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 571-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith S. White ◽  
Alan Lindsay ◽  
T. Allan Pryor ◽  
Wayne F. Brown ◽  
Kevin Walsh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Digoxin Intoxication

scholarly journals Prisoners' insomnia: to treat or not to treat? Medical decision-making in places of detention

2008 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 307-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernice S. Elger
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Correctional Institutions ◽  
Efficient Treatment ◽  
Adequate Evaluation ◽  
Insomnia Treatment

Insomnia is a frequent reason for medical and psychiatric consultation in prisons. Medical decision-making in correctional health care should be based on the same principles as outside correctional institutions. In places of detention, principles should be balanced according to the same criteria as outside correctional institutions, while taking into account the unique harm-benefit ratios related to the specific context. The aim of this paper was to examine the existing attitudes and ethical issues related to decision-making about insomnia evaluation and treatment in places of detention. An analysis of the ethical issues and an evidence-based review of the consequences of different attitudes and treatments with regard to prison medicine were carried out. Insomnia is a public health problem and requires adequate evaluation and treatment to avoid more serious health consequences both within and outside correctional institutions. Insomnia treatment in places of detention is an ethical dilemma, but there is no evidence-based reason to avoid benzodiazepines in prison completely and to use only neuroleptics and antidepressants, which might represent more dangerous and less efficient treatment. In prison medicine, should we even treat insomnia? Widely accepted ethical strategies of decision-making indicate that we should. Institutional guidelines on insomnia should be based on ethically sound decision-making that takes into account the available evidence.

scholarly journals The role of non-medical factors in physicians’ decision-making process in a pediatric telemedicine service

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 1152-1176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Motti Haimi ◽  
Shuli Brammli-Greenberg ◽  
Yehezkel Waisman ◽  
Nili Stein ◽  
Orna Baron-Epel
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Decision Making Process ◽  
Medical Decisions ◽  
Telemedicine Service ◽  
Medical Factors ◽  
Complex Process ◽  
Clinical Scenarios

The complex process of medical decision-making is prone also to medically extraneous influences or “non-medical” factors. We aimed to investigate the possible role of non-medical factors in doctors’ decision-making process in a telemedicine setting. Interviews with 15 physicians who work in a pediatric telemedicine service were conducted. Those included a qualitative section, in which the physicians were asked about the role of non-medical factors in their decisions. Their responses to three clinical scenarios were also analyzed. In an additional quantitative section, a random sample of 339 parent -physician consultations, held during 2014–2017, was analyzed retrospectively. Various non-medical factors were identified with respect to their possible effect on primary and secondary decisions, the accuracy of diagnosis, and “reasonability” of the decisions. Various non-medical factors were found to influence physicians’ decisions. Those factors were related to the child, the applying parent, the physician, the interaction between the doctor and parents, the shift, and to demographic considerations, and were also found to influence the ability to make an accurate diagnosis and “reasonable” decisions. Our conclusion was that non-medical factors have an impact on doctor’s decisions, even in the setting of telemedicine, and should be considered for improving medical decisions in this milieu.

Overview of Legal Issues in Psychiatry

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy D. Gunter
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Forensic Psychiatry ◽  
Medical Decision Making ◽  
Third Parties ◽  
Legal Issues ◽  
Medical Decision ◽  
Patient Relationship ◽  
Treatment Provider ◽  
Regulatory Issues

Psychiatrists routinely encounter legal and regulatory issues in the practice of psychiatry. This review provides an overview of the psychiatrist’s duties and responsibilities in the doctor-patient relationship and common legal issues arising in clinical practice, with reference to US statutory and regulatory practices. The field of forensic psychiatry is described, and the roles of the forensic evaluator and the treatment provider are compared. This review contains 2 figures, 5 tables, and 64 references. Key words: civil commitment, confidentiality, duty to third parties, forensic psychiatry, guardianship, gun ownership, medical decision making, medical marijuana, risk assessment 

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