PHI 2396 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Lifesaving, Paternalism, Informed Consent
21 Feb 2018
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Document Summary
Autonomy a person"s rational capacity for self-governance or self-determination. Autonomy principle autonomous persons should be allowed to exercise their capacity for self-determination. Paternalism the overriding of a person"s actions or decision-making for his or her own good. Weak paternalism paternalism directed at persons who cannot act autonomously or whose autonomy is greatly diminished. Strong paternalism the overriding of a person"s actions or choices although he or she is substantially autonomous. The courts have established the principle that a competent patient has a right to reject recommended treatments, even life-saving ones. The right to refuse treatment is problematic when the patients are mature minors . Parents reject medical treatment for their minor children. The freedom of doctors to determine the conditions they work in and the care they give to patients. Pharmaceutical companies that encourage use of expensive treatments of marginal efficacy. Patterns of physician reimbursement that encourage procedure-oriented interventions and minimize counseling.
