Ethics Flashcards
True or false: once patients sign a statement giving consent, they must continue treatment
False
Patients may change their minds at any time. Exceptions to the requirement of informed consent include emergency situations and patients without decision-making capacity
A 15 year old pregnant girl requires hospitalisation for preeclampsia. Is parental consent required?
No.
Parental consent is not necessary for the medical treatment of pregnant minors
A doctor refer a patient for an MRI at a facility he/she owns
Conflicts of interest
Involuntary psychiatric hospitalisation can be undertaken for which 3 reasons?
The patient is a danger to self, a danger to others, or gravely disabled (unable to provide for basic needs)
True or false: it is more difficult to justify the withdrawal of care than to have withheld the treatment in the first place
False
Withdrawing non-beneficial treatment or treatment a patient no longer wants is ethically equivalent to withholding care
A mother refuses to allow her child to be vaccinated
A parent has the right to refuse treatment for his/her child as long as it does not pose a serious threat to the well-being of the child
When can a physician refuse to continue treating a patient on the grounds of futility?
When there is no rationale for treatment, maximal intervention is failing, a given intervention has already failed, and treatment will not achieve the goals of care
An 8 year old is in a serious accident. She requires emergent transfusion, but her parents are not present
Treat immediately
Consent is implied in emergency situations
A 15 year old girl seeking treatment for an STD asks that her parents not be told about her condition
Minors may consent to care for STDs without parental consent or knowledge
Conditions in which confidentiality must be overridden
Real threat of harm to 3rd parties; suicidal intentions; certain contagious diseases; elder and child abuse
Involuntary commitment or isolation for medical treatment may be undertaken for what reason?
When treatment non compliance represents a serious danger to public health (e.g active TB)
A 10 year old child presents in status epilepticus, but her parents refuse treatment on religious grounds
Treat because the disease represents an immediate threat to the child’s life.
Then seek a court order
A son asks that his mother not be told about her recently discovered cancer
A physician can withhold information from the patient only in the rare case of therapeutic privilege or if the patient requests not to be told
