When patients are unable to express their wishes and do not have surrogates or advance directives, which and whose values should inform decision making for them? We discuss ethical complexities of caring for unrepresented patients.
Shared decision making honors patient autonomy, particularly for preference-sensitive care decisions and even when patients have impaired decision-making capacity.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(5):E358-364. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.358.
Dr Dónal O’Mathúna joins Ethics Talk to discuss his article, coauthored with Dr Nawaraj Upadhaya: “Should Children Be Enrolled in Clinical Research in Conflict Zones?”