19.3 Autonomy and shared decision making

Question 1

What information is important to disclose to promote autonomy around medical decisions?

Answer 1

1. Diagnosis and extent of disease
2. Issues related to prognosis
3. Range of treatment options
4. Benefit/harm of each treatment

Question 2

Name the 5 criteria that must be met for “hard” paternalism

Answer 2

1. Patient at risk of a SIGNIFICANT preventable harm
2. The paternalistic action will probably prevent the arm
3. Benefits > risks to patient
4. Persuasion has failed and there is no reasonable alternative to override patient’s autonomy
5. Approach that is taken is the least impactful of patient autonomy