Medical Decision Making and Research

Paper Summary:

This research paper describes the Western medical approach to patient treatment which requires that the patient be informed of his illness and arms him or her with the autonomy to choose the kind of care and treatment he or she will have. The paper further takes a look at the history of this medical doctrine in the United States and its implications for parental authority regarding medical decision making and research.

From the Paper:

"A physician who makes a diagnosis of a diseased condition, which means a short and painful life for a patient must make a choice of outright informing the patient of his condition, discussing treatment options with his or her family in the absence of the patient, or discussing the condition and the options with the patient's family and in his or her presence (Veatch 2002). Cultures differ in determining the option among these three. Since the era of liberal biomedical ethics in the 70s in the United States, the focus has been the competent patient. In the East, traditional Europe and Latin America, the family makes that decision, whether the patient is present or involved, and especially in terminal disease conditions, such as cancer. Western cultures, particularly American, uphold the ideology of liberal individualism, which gives priority to the patient's own decision and which embodies the doctrine of informed consent. The doctrine requires that the patient be informed and arms him or her with the autonomy to choose the kind of care and treatment he or she will have. This means that it is unethical and illegal to submit the patient to treatment options without his knowledge and consent and that the right to accept or refuse the options is reserved to him or her alone (Veacth)."

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