Resolving Medical Futility Disputes
Delaware Nurses Association, Vol. 36, No. 2, pp. 6, 2011
11 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2012
Date Written: January 1, 2011
Abstract
Conflicts over end-of-life treatment are common. One category of such conflict is the medical futility dispute. Typically, in a medical futility dispute the surrogate decision maker wants to continue aggressive treatment for a patient but healthcare providers determine that such treatment is inappropriate. In this article we discuss: the types of medical futility, how medical futility disputes can be prevented, and how such disputes can be resolved.
Keywords: end-of-life, medical futility, healthcare, surrogate, death, dying, physiologic futility, non-beneficial, Delaware Health Care Decisions, DHCD
JEL Classification: K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation