Don't miss medical futility audio conference
Exploring ethical dimensions of medical futility legislation
When do you withhold or discontinue life-prolonging treatment in cases deemed medically futile? As baby boomers age, the critical issues surrounding these cases will require advance planning and establishment of guidelines.
The problem of "futility" in end-of-life care has recently come under heavy scrutiny and pointed criticism, especially by disability rights groups and advocates. Their position, which made front-page news during the Terry Schiavo case, is that persons with serious disabilities are frequently dismissed as burdensome and as having lives not worth living. Medical Futility Practices: Are They Ethical or Discriminatory?, an audio conference sponsored by AHC Media, with presenter John Banja, PhD, from Emory's Center for Ethics, will address how to solve the problem of "futility."
Ramifications of the Texas Advance Directives Act
Disability rights advocates have taken special aim at legislation like Texas's 1999 "futility law" (actually, the Texas Advance Directives Act), which empowers health professionals to withhold or discontinue life-prolonging treatment that they deem futile or medically unnecessary. On the other hand, many health professionals commonly report feeling unreasonable pressure to provide aggressive care that they believe is thoroughly unwarranted. They report considerable distress in feeling compelled, usually by a patient's family members, to offer treatment that they deem clinically ineffective, burdensome if not torturous for the patient, and a waste of health care dollars.
Contrasting views will be explored
This presentation will survey these contrasting interpretations and experiences of futility, and question whether it is even possible to understand "futile treatment" in a fair and ethically unambiguous way. Recommendations will be made that might prevent or mitigate psychological and organizational distress that often accompanies decisions about aggressive treatment in difficult cases. The ethical dimensions of futility will be elaborately explored as will those ideological and cultural factors that ultimately limit the degree to which ethical reflection, especially as it occurs in the United States, can "solve" the problem of futility.
How to sign up
The fee of just $249 allows you to invite as many listeners from your facility as you can accommodate around your conference telephone. Plus, you and your staff will benefit from the interactive question-and-answer segment immediately following the presenter's prepared remarks.
Call (800) 688-2421 or go to http://www.ahcmediainteractive.com/ to register today or to order the CD (MP3 format) for this audio conference to educate your staff!
When do you withhold or discontinue life-prolonging treatment in cases deemed medically futile? As baby boomers age, the critical issues surrounding these cases will require advance planning and establishment of guidelines.You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content