Legal Aspects of Biomedical Ethical Issues Confronting Hospitals

Abstract

The relevance of biomedical ethics for American health care providers has intensified significantly during the past decade. Concomitantly, decisions arising in this context have become ever more difficult and complex. While the issue is not new, never before has it been as elevated and as visible in the public domain. It is an omnipresent issue, whose focus has been refined as a result of one dominant influence: technological advances. This factor forms the basis for the thesis I wish to share with you today; namely, technological advances have forced a broader and deeper awareness of biomedical ethical questions by all of society, and particularly by hospitals. The awareness and examination, in turn, have produced fundamental changes in our laws. The technology imperative has compelled society to confront and resolve a deluge of disturbing issues, whose spectrum is both vast and varied. Some of the many examples of these medical- ethical-legal issues regularly faced by hospitals include:

• 1 General consent to or refusal of treatment, that is, in nonlife-threatening situations

• 2 Refusal of treatment by patients faced with life-crucial decisions

• 3 Withholding or withdrawing of life-support measures from the terminally ill

• 4 Withholding or withdrawing of nutrition and hydration from the terminally ill

• 5 “Do not resuscitate” orders

• 6 Treatment of and consent for minors and incompetents

• 7 Use of patient restraints

• 8 Human research experimentation

• 9 Organ transplantation

• 10 Genetic engineering and other reproduction issues

• 11 Use of psychotropic drugs

• 12 Surrogate mothers

• 13 Confidentiality of medical records information