[Treatment discontinuation and obligation to treat: an extended model for the decision-making process]

Abstract

Social developments and medical progress in the last decades have led to a significant change of values in medicine, which spans from the cornerstone of the patient's autonomy to the increasingly difficult decision-making process related to available medical treatments. This conflict exaggerates with end-of-life situations, where a purely palliative approach to the therapy is applied, or in cases of reduced ability for patient's consent. From a legal point of view, many uncertainties have been clarified in recent years. The patient's autonomy has been strengthened, however, the law requires the doctor to review and carefully balance the treatment options so that a new and modified patient-doctor relationship is often necessary in this difficult decision-making process. The doctor should no longer retreat into the classical role of a neutral advisor and leave the complete responsibility of medical decisions to the patient. Instead, in order for the patient to be able to make a balanced and individually tailored autonomous decision, the doctor needs to bring in his medical expertise along with his own personal experiences and personal opinions, as long as he clearly differentiates between personal and professional views. This way the patient will be empowered to make complex medical decisions, considering his personal situation and previous experiences as well as his own set of values. For complex situations medical practitioners can find support from reflection within the treatment team, or through an external ethical advisory panel. Algorithms can be helpful to illustrate the steps in a decision-making process and thus support medical staff in situations of difficult medical decisions.