A common ethical dilemma in the clinical setting concerns the trade-off between beneficence and respecting patients' autonomy
Björk, J.
Lakartidningen 116
2019
ISSN/ISBN: 1652-7518 PMID: 31613375 Document Number: 697851
This article highlights a special subtype of this dilemma, in which the patient requests a treatment that the physician judges to be substandard. Reasons for and against providing substandard treatment in the name of patient autonomy are presented and discussed. It is suggested that physicians carefully consider the risk of crowding out of other patients if substandard treatment is provided.