Physicians have an obligation to consider a patient’s quality of life when making treatment decisions and should consider giving patients the options of withholding or withdrawing aggressive treatment if that treatment will not restore the kind of life the patient finds meaningful.
Mark T. Hughes, MD, MA and Bimal H. Ashar, MD, MBA
Physicians are urged to evaluate an asymptomatic patient's request for CT screening and use the opportunity to educate the patient and determine the course of action that is in the patient's best interest.
Physicians who are faced with a patient who refuses to undergo prescribed annual screening should attempt to engage them in shared decision making and educate the patient about the risks and benefits of the test.
Two bioethicists argue that prenatal disability screening promotes negativity toward the disabled and gives parents the ability to selectively form families.
Physicians who are faced with a patient who refuses to undergo prescribed annual screening should attempt to engage them in shared decision making and educate the patient about the risks and benefits of the test.