Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Feb;41(1):90-114.
doi: 10.1093/jmp/jhv035. Epub 2015 Dec 17.

Medically Inappropriate or Futile Treatment: Deliberation and Justification

Cheryl J Misak  1 , Douglas B White  2 , Robert D Truog  2
Affiliations

Medically Inappropriate or Futile Treatment: Deliberation and Justification

Cheryl J Misak et al. J Med Philos. 2016 Feb.

Abstract

This paper reframes the futility debate, moving away from the question "Who decides when to end what is considered to be a medically inappropriate or futile treatment?" and toward the question "How can society make policy that will best account for the multitude of values and conflicts involved in such decision-making?" It offers a pragmatist moral epistemology that provides us with (1) a clear justification of why it is important to take best standards, norms, and physician judgment seriously and (2) a clear justification of why ample opportunity must be made for patients, families, and society to challenge those standards and norms.

Keywords: futility; medically inappropriate treatment; pragmatism.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. American Medical Association Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs 1999. Medical futility in end-of-life care: A report of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs. The Journal of the American Medical Association 281:937–41. - PubMed
    1. Antiel R. M., Curlin F. A., Hook C. C., Tilburt J. C. 2011. The impact of medical school oaths and other professional codes of ethics: Results of a national physician survey. Archives of Internal Medicine 171:469–71. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bosslet G.T., Pope T.M., Rubenfeld G.D., Lo B., Truog R.D., Rushton C.H., Curtis J.R., et al. 2015. An official ATS/AACN/ACCP/ESICM/SCCM policy statement: Responding to requests for potentially inappropriate treatments in intensive care units. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine 191(11):1318–30. - PubMed
    1. Botti D. 2014. John Rawls, Peirce’s notion of truth and White’s holistic pragmatism: Notes on a recent finding among Rawls’ unpublished papers and personal library. History of Political Thought 35:345–77.
    1. Brock D. 2007. Health care resource prioritization and rationing: Why is it so difficult? Social Research: An International Quarterly 74:125–48.

LinkOut - more resources