Decision-Making in Complex Medical Situations- A Case of Rare Brain and Spinal Cord Malignancy
Ethical principles govern every healthcare personnel, including nurses, when offering health services to patients. It helps to protect the rights of both the healthcare professional and the patient. Sometimes, the rights of the patient are overstepped by the healthcare specialist and vice versa. Therefore, these principles, which include privacy, security, and informed consent, play a major role in nursing. A patient makes informed consent after a specialist makes him/her well-informed of the options of interventions before treatment begins. This helps them to prepare for the side effects of the chosen intervention. However, the patient may request the specialist to offer a service that is illegally accepted. Therefore, these principles come in handy for the specialist.
In my opinion, the court’s decision seems unwarranted. This is because the physician acknowledges the role of the body called the Federal Drug Administration. A body that declared the woman’s choice of drugs unapproved and therefore illegal for use. The physician provided care as per the ethical guidelines, which are legally acceptable. The woman was not deprived of her informed consent because the information on an illegal option of malignancy treatment was unnecessary in the case of a registered and certified physician. Different states have different codes for information consent integrated into laws of statutory. Failure to abide by them translates to law violation (Bester et al., 2016). This action may result in jurisdiction punishment.
According to the medical doctrine of informed consent, it is the responsibility of a physician to inform the patient of all illegally acceptable treatment options (Vos et al., 2018). Enough and detailed information is essential to a patient during decision-making. However, there are disclosure standards that are followed in different communities during decision-making. The physician is not obliged to give information on illegal treatments. This is because the practice of the illegal treatment will prompt violation and thus punishment such as reprimanding. Physicians should inform patients of treatment options that have not yet proven effective. This helps them have a wide variety of choices before commencing treatment.
References
Bester, J., Cole, C. M., & Kodish, E. (2016). The limits of informed consent for an overwhelmed patient: clinicians’ role in protecting patients and preventing overwhelm. AMA journal of ethics, 18(9), 869-886. https://journalofethics.ama-assn.org/sites/journalofethics.ama-assn.org/files/2018-05/peer2-1609.pdf
Vos, I. M., Schermer, M. H., & Bolt, I. L. (2018). Recent insights into decision-making and their implications for informed consent. Journal of Medical Ethics, 44(11), 734-738. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2018-104884
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Primary Task Response: Within the Discussion Board area, write 300–500 words that respond to the following questions with your thoughts, ideas, and comments. This will be the foundation for future discussions with your classmates. Be substantive and clear, and use examples to reinforce your ideas:
Decision-Making in Complex Medical Situations- A Case of Rare Brain and Spinal Cord Malignancy
A woman in her mid-thirties suffered from a rare malignancy in her brain and around her spinal cord. She had surgery, and most of the tumour mass was removed, but the residual tumour remained in the brain and around the spinal cord. The doctors informed her that chemotherapy and radiation were possible treatment options but could cause serious problems such as sepsis, a permanent loss of IQ and stature, and even death. She wished to proceed with the therapy.
After undergoing aggressive chemotherapy and radiation, she did independent research and read of several drugs being administered for cancer in other states that were unapproved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) and were illegal in their home state but were touted by physicians using them as “miracle cures.” The woman is considering suing her physician for failure to disclose alternative treatments, thus depriving her of informed consent.
A court awarded summary judgment to the physician.
Respond to the following questions about this case:
In your opinion, does the court’s decision seem warranted? Why or why not?
Under the doctrine of informed consent, should a physician be responsible for informing patients of all treatment options, even if some of the treatments are illegal or not yet proven effective? Explain your answer.
Use APA formatting and citation standards. Use at least two (2) scholarly references published within the last 5 years to substantiate your work.