TY - JOUR
T1 - When open-ended questions don't work
T2 - The role of palliative paternalism in difficult medical decisions
AU - Roeland, Eric
AU - Cain, Julia
AU - Onderdonk, Chris
AU - Kerr, Kim
AU - Mitchell, William
AU - Thornberry, Kathryn
PY - 2014/4/1
Y1 - 2014/4/1
N2 - The balance between patient autonomy and medical paternalism must be reexamined. The tension between autonomy and paternalism is both an ethical and practical issue. Autonomy is the current gold standard approach to patient communication and has grown to the point that patient preference dictates care, even when their choices are not possible or are medically nonbeneficial. Furthermore, we have observed a trend among physicians to avoid making difficult medical decisions by hiding behind a shield of patient autonomy. Paternalism, characterized as the antithesis of autonomy, is widely dismissed as having any role in medicine. We disagree and believe that paternalism still has an important role in medical decision making.
AB - The balance between patient autonomy and medical paternalism must be reexamined. The tension between autonomy and paternalism is both an ethical and practical issue. Autonomy is the current gold standard approach to patient communication and has grown to the point that patient preference dictates care, even when their choices are not possible or are medically nonbeneficial. Furthermore, we have observed a trend among physicians to avoid making difficult medical decisions by hiding behind a shield of patient autonomy. Paternalism, characterized as the antithesis of autonomy, is widely dismissed as having any role in medicine. We disagree and believe that paternalism still has an important role in medical decision making.
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U2 - 10.1089/jpm.2013.0408
DO - 10.1089/jpm.2013.0408
M3 - Article
C2 - 24588626
AN - SCOPUS:84898728282
SN - 1096-6218
VL - 17
SP - 415
EP - 420
JO - Journal of palliative medicine
JF - Journal of palliative medicine
IS - 4
ER -