Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Section I Information problems
- Introduction
- 2 Consent
- 3 Capacity
- 4 Disclosure
- 5 Voluntariness
- 6 Truth telling
- 7 Confidentiality
- Section II End of life care
- Section III Pregnant women and children
- Section IV Genetics and biotechnology
- Section V Research ethics
- Section VI Health systems and institutions
- Section VII Using clinical ethics to make an impact in healthcare
- Section VIII Global health ethics
- Section IX Religious and cultural perspectives in bioethics
- Section X Specialty bioethics
- Index
- References
4 - Disclosure
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 October 2009
Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Acknowledgements
- 1 Introduction
- Section I Information problems
- Introduction
- 2 Consent
- 3 Capacity
- 4 Disclosure
- 5 Voluntariness
- 6 Truth telling
- 7 Confidentiality
- Section II End of life care
- Section III Pregnant women and children
- Section IV Genetics and biotechnology
- Section V Research ethics
- Section VI Health systems and institutions
- Section VII Using clinical ethics to make an impact in healthcare
- Section VIII Global health ethics
- Section IX Religious and cultural perspectives in bioethics
- Section X Specialty bioethics
- Index
- References
Summary
Mrs. D is 75 years old and lives at home with her husband. She has a remote history of gastric ulcers and has mild renal insufficiency as a consequence of hypertension. She visits her family physician because of acute worsening of chronic arthritis in her right shoulder. She is having trouble lifting and carrying objects. Her family physician is considering treating Mrs. D with a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug.
Mrs. E is 80 years old and lives alone in an apartment. She is fully independent and has never had a serious illness. She prefers not to see doctors. She is admitted to hospital after falling on the stairs and suffering a fracture of the femoral neck. A consultant in internal medicine diagnoses critical aortic stenosis; this is confirmed by echocardiography. The anesthetist visits Mrs. E to discuss the proposed surgery and anesthesia. When he says that serious risks are associated with the surgery, Mrs. E says she does not want to know about them. She wants her hip fixed because she simply cannot live with reduced mobility. The anesthetist feels that he has a duty to disclose the risks of anesthesia.
What is disclosure?
Disclosure refers to the process during which physicians provide information about a proposed medical investigation or treatment to the patient. Disclosure, along with capacity, understanding, voluntariness, and consent, makes up the main elements of informed consent (Beauchamp and Childress, 2001).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge Textbook of Bioethics , pp. 24 - 30Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2008
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