Question 1

Patients are legitimately judged incompetent in cases of

Accepted Answer

Intellectual disability and dementia can impair a patient's ability to make informed decisions, justifying a judgment of incompetence. Reluctance or refusal of treatment, or having a terminal disease, does not necessarily imply incompetence.

Question 2

Physicians are often not obligated to provide disclosure in cases of

Accepted Answer

Physicians are not obligated to provide disclosure if the patient has waived the right to be informed. This means the patient has explicitly chosen not to receive information about their treatment or diagnosis.

Question 3

Tom L. Beauchamp defines informed consent as

Accepted Answer

Tom L. Beauchamp defines informed consent primarily as "autonomous authorization," emphasizing the importance of individuals making informed, voluntary decisions regarding their own healthcare and participation in research.

Question 4

The consent of an informed, competent, understanding patient cannot be legitimate unless it is given

Accepted Answer

Consent must be given voluntarily by the patient, without coercion or undue influence, to be considered legitimate.

Question 5

From a strictly Kantian viewpoint, therapeutic privilege is

Accepted Answer

From a Kantian perspective, therapeutic privilege, which involves withholding information from a patient for their own good, is never permissible because it violates the principle of treating individuals as ends in themselves and not merely as means to an end. Kantian ethics emphasizes the importance of autonomy and informed consent, making the withholding of information ethically unacceptable.

Question 6

A(n) _______ would judge whether a physician should obtain informed consent according to the benefits generated for all concerned.

Accepted Answer

Act-utilitarianism focuses on the consequences of individual actions and judges them based on the amount of good they produce for the greatest number. In the context of informed consent, an act-utilitarian would consider whether obtaining informed consent in each specific case generates the most beneficial outcome for all involved.

Question 7

A(n) _______ would judge whether a physician should obtain informed consent according to the consequences that would result if physicians were consistently required to secure informed consent.

Accepted Answer

Rule-utilitarianism evaluates the rightness or wrongness of an action based on the consequences of following a rule that mandates the action. In this case, the rule would be that physicians must always obtain informed consent, and the judgment would be based on the outcomes of consistently applying this rule.

Question 8

A(n) _______ would judge that informed consent is an absolute requirement on the basis of respecting individual autonomy.

Accepted Answer

Kantian ethics emphasizes the importance of respecting individuals as ends in themselves, which includes respecting their autonomy and capacity to make informed decisions. This perspective would view informed consent as an absolute requirement.

Question 9

A(n) _______ would argue in support of the doctrine of informed consent on the grounds that treating people without their informed authorization would be a violation of basic liberties.

Accepted Answer

The answer of A(n) _______ would argue in support of...

Question 10

The case of Canterbury v. Spence was an important ruling regarding informed consent. It focused primarily on

Accepted Answer

The case of Canterbury v. Spence is significant in medical law for establishing the standard regarding the adequacy of disclosure by physicians to patients as part of the informed consent process. It emphasized that a physician must provide the patient with information about the risks and alternatives of a proposed treatment or procedure, allowing the patient to make an informed decision.

Question 11

The idea of _______ arises from the intuition that patients, as autonomous persons, should have the ultimate say in what is done to their bodies, and that they ought not to be treated without their voluntary, knowledgeable agreement.

Accepted Answer

The concept described is "informed consent," which emphasizes the importance of patients making voluntary and knowledgeable decisions about their own medical treatments.

Question 12

In the ethical ideal, consent is more than _______-more than the patient's giving into the physician's wishes or doing what is expected.

Accepted Answer

Assent refers to a basic agreement or compliance, often without a full understanding or agreement with the reasoning or principles behind the decision. The ethical ideal of consent involves a deeper understanding and agreement, beyond merely assenting or giving in to the physician's wishes. It encompasses informed and voluntary agreement to a medical intervention.

Question 13

Physicians are not obligated to provide disclosure in all situations. Which of the following describes an exception to physicians' duty to obtain informed consent?

Accepted Answer

All of the options describe exceptions to the duty of obtaining informed consent. In emergencies, obtaining consent may delay necessary treatment. If a patient is incompetent, they cannot provide informed consent, and a surrogate decision-maker may be needed. Patients can also waive their right to be informed if they wish.

Question 14

A physician is treating a 23-year-old patient for a terminal illness. The patient is already extremely distraught and depressed, so the physician decides to withhold relevant information-reasoning that the disclosure would likely do great harm and not much good. The physical is exercising

Accepted Answer

Therapeutic privilege allows a physician to withhold information from a patient if disclosing it is believed to cause harm or distress that outweighs the benefits of the patient knowing the information. In this scenario, the physician is using therapeutic privilege by choosing not to disclose certain information to avoid causing further distress to the patient.

Question 15

A patient is generally considered to possess decision-making capacity if they

Accepted Answer

A patient is considered to have decision-making capacity if they can appreciate the nature of the recommended care, understand their medical diagnosis and prognosis, and make decisions consistent with their values.

Question 16

Philosophers have justified informed consent through appeals to the principles of autonomy and beneficence.

Accepted Answer

Informed consent is justified through the principle of autonomy by respecting individuals' rights to make informed decisions about their own healthcare, and through the principle of beneficence by ensuring actions are taken with the intent to benefit the patient, avoiding harm.

Question 17

Throughout medical history, physicians have practiced the healing arts while putting great emphasis on informed consent.

Accepted Answer

Historically, the concept of informed consent as we understand it today did not always exist. The emphasis on informed consent, where patients are fully informed about the risks, benefits, and alternatives of any treatment, procedure, or test, and must give their voluntary agreement to proceed, has evolved over time, particularly during the 20th century. Prior to this, physicians often made decisions with paternalistic attitudes, believing they knew what was best for their patients without necessarily explaining all details or obtaining explicit consent.

Question 18

Many critics see huge discrepancies between the ethical ideal of informed consent and the laws or rules meant to implement it.

Accepted Answer

Many critics argue that there are significant gaps between the ethical ideal of informed consent, which emphasizes autonomy and understanding, and the actual laws or rules designed to implement it, often citing issues like complexity, accessibility, and real-world applicability.

Question 19

True informed consent is merely a matter of warning the patient of the risks of treatment.

Accepted Answer

True informed consent involves more than just warning the patient of the risks; it also includes explaining the nature of the treatment, potential benefits, alternatives, and ensuring the patient understands this information to make an informed decision.

Question 20

To determine a patient's decision-making capacity, a court must usually get involved.

Accepted Answer

Decision-making capacity is typically assessed by healthcare providers, such as physicians or psychologists, not by courts. Courts may become involved in cases where there is a dispute or when a formal determination of incapacity is required for legal purposes, such as appointing a guardian.

Quiz 5: Informed Consent