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Agreement between professions on ethical decisions: an empirical demonstration
M Silberfeld1, M Finstad, D Stephens
1Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Medicine and Law
|January 1, 1995
Summary
Multidisciplinary teams show high agreement when assessing mental capacity. Despite differing variable weights, consensus exists on key criteria for capacity determination.
Area of Science:
- Geriatric Care
- Neuropsychology
- Healthcare Decision-Making
Background:
- Assessing mental capacity is crucial in geriatric care.
- Multidisciplinary panels are often used for complex capacity evaluations.
- Understanding agreement factors in these panels can improve assessment consistency.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explain the high level of agreement among a multidisciplinary competency panel.
- To identify the key criteria influencing mental capacity determinations.
- To explore factors contributing to consensus in capacity assessments.
Main Methods:
- Studied decisions from a multidisciplinary competency panel at Baycrest Centre for Geriatric Care.
- Utilized a standardized form to capture the capacity determination process.
- Analyzed the relative weights given to decision-making variables across disciplines.
Main Results:
- High agreement was observed on individual cases of mental capacity determination.
- While discipline-specific variable weighting differed, consensus emerged on core capacity criteria.
- A standardized assessment form facilitated the capture of the decision-making process.
Conclusions:
- Multidisciplinary collaboration fosters significant agreement in mental capacity assessments.
- Consensus on key criteria, despite disciplinary variations, is achievable.
- Further research can explore the proposed explanations for this high level of agreement.