Medical futility and the social context

The concept of medical futility has come to be seen in some quarters as a value-neutral trump card when dealing with issues of power and conflicting values in medicine. I argue that this concept is potentially useful, but only in a social context that provides a normative framework for its use. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Halliday, R. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: BMJ Publ. 1997
In: Journal of medical ethics
Year: 1997, Volume: 23, Issue: 3, Pages: 148-153
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:The concept of medical futility has come to be seen in some quarters as a value-neutral trump card when dealing with issues of power and conflicting values in medicine. I argue that this concept is potentially useful, but only in a social context that provides a normative framework for its use. This social context needs to include a broad consensus about the purpose of medicine and the nature of the physician-patient relationship.
ISSN:1473-4257
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of medical ethics
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1136/jme.23.3.148