• Joy Mendel.
• Hospital Ethicist, Mater Health Services, Brisbane.
• Monash Bioeth Rev. 2007 Jan 1;26(1-2):68-78.

AbstractFilial obligation and its implications have been little-debated in ethics. The basis of informed consent in libertarian positions may be challenged by inclusion of others beyond the immediate doctor-patient relationship. Some of the literature arguing for and against filial duty, including feminist literature, is presented as a backdrop to the argument that a patient's family, and further, his or her community, contains the source of a broader perspective regarding decisions concerning his or her medical treatment. Communitarian models allow for a medical decision to be owned by some or all stakeholders in patient outcomes. Although such a position undoubtedly confronts traditional notions of autonomy, it offers an alternative that may positively impact the practice of medicine by providing a more holistic treatment context. New models premised on shared decision-making will be presented as frameworks that may provide a theoretical basis for greater physician input into medical decisions that impact a patient's family members and in more global terms, his or her community.

9 keywords...

hide…