phuluong2k
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Eleven days after a massive stroke, patient does not have spontaneous respirations or response to any stimuli. Neurologic evaluation indicates that he is unlikely to regain consciousness. He has appointed his common law spouse to make the decisions about his health care by means of a living will in which he indicated that he does not want his life to be maintained using futile medical care. This was executed one and a half years ago while they lived in another state.
Patient’s spouse has requested that his hydration and nutritional support be withdrawn. The doctor treating the patient has strong moral convictions against terminating any kind of life support.
In this situation which of the following scenarios would be appropriate for the physician to follow?
A - He should continue to treat the patient according to his convictions since he is not obligated to practice medicine contrary to his moral beliefs.
B - He should comply with the requests of the patient’s spouse.
C - He can safely continue to treat patients as he wishes because the living will of the patient was executed in another state and it was done so more than 1 year ago, both of which make it invalid in the present situation.
D - He should transfer the care of the patient to another physician who is willing to comply with the wishes of the patient’s wife and his own expressed in the living will.
E - He cannot make this decision on his own and needs to consult the hospital ethics committee.
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| p53
Forum Guru
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B.
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"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein
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| phuluong2k
Forum Fanatic
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Any more idea?
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| babli
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E?
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| nelia
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What about D - if it is against your strong moral convictions then doctor should refer patient to another physician and once under care of another dr he can withdraw from the care
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| phuluong2k
Forum Fanatic
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You are right nelia, In fact the spouse request is right, but the doctor have moral disagreement, so he can transfer to other doctor who do the spouse's request
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