Entscheidungen am Lebensende
Ausgabe: 2/2008
(nur Online verfügbar)
54. Jahrgang
Zur Ethik von ethischen Leitlinien: Sind sie die richtige Antwort auf moralisch schwierige Entscheidungssituationen im Krankenhaus und warum sollten Ärzte sie befolgen?
Policy writing is one of the three main functions of clinical ethics committees and every hospital enacts a multitude of policies on medical as well as on value-laden questions. However, not much attention has been paid to the ethics of policy writing meaning the justification of the very existence of policies, their authority and substance as well as the process how they are generated. This article aims to discuss our understanding of policy writing with respect to the special semi-public nature of large healthcare organizations and does this considering a practical question: how should hospitals should react to the wish of mature minors not to receive a blood transfusion. Four arguments are presented as to why policy guided decision making is preferable to individual decision making even in value-laden questions. Finally, standards are proposed that a policy on moral controversial medical practices must meet in order to possess sufficient authority for healthcare professionals to follow it.
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