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.
A guardian’s request to sterilize a woman with intellectual disabilities is not ethically justifiable unless the woman assents and it is to her benefit.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(4):365-372. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.4.ecas2-1604.
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.
Frances Grimstad, MD, MS and Elizabeth Boskey, PhD, MPH, MSSW, LICSW
Gender-affirming surgery for teens is growing as a field. Norms about who should be involved, to what extent, and for which health decisions are still evolving.
AMA J Ethics. 2020;22(5):E452-457. doi:
10.1001/amajethics.2020.452.