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Should ethics consultants help clinicians face scarcity in their practice?
S A Hurst1, S Reiter-Theil, A-M Slowther
1Institute for Biomedical Ethics, University of Geneva MedicalSchool, Geneva, Switzerland.
Journal of Medical Ethics
|April 1, 2008
Summary
European physicians face ethical challenges due to resource scarcity but rarely use ethics support services for these issues. Ethics consultants can help make these difficult decisions more justifiable and fair.
Area of Science:
- Medical Ethics
- Healthcare Management
Background:
- Physicians frequently encounter ethical difficulties related to resource scarcity.
- Existing resolutions for scarcity-related ethical dilemmas often leave physicians dissatisfied.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore the potential utility of ethics support services in addressing scarcity-related ethical dilemmas among physicians.
- To understand why physicians rarely refer scarcity issues to ethics consultations despite finding offered help useful.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of international survey data on physician experiences with rationing and ethics support.
- Examination of physician referrals and perceptions of ethics consultation for scarcity-related ethical issues.
Main Results:
- Physicians find the types of help offered by ethics support services valuable.
- Despite this, physicians infrequently refer scarcity-related ethical difficulties to ethics consultation.
- Physicians reported dissatisfaction with the resolution of many scarcity-related ethical cases.
Conclusions:
- Ethics consultants can assist physicians by simplifying the decision-making process and enhancing ethical justification.
- Consultants' expertise in justice considerations can help distinguish unjust limits from merely frustrating ones.
- While infrequent, ethics consultants should be prepared to address scarcity-related ethical dilemmas.
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