The Unrepresented Patient

EthicsLab

Deciding for another is difficult. One of the most challenging ethical issues faced in clinical practice today is deciding for unrepresented patients – patients who have no advance directive or no family and friends who can make decisions on behalf of the patient (surrogate decision makers) when the patient cannot speak for themselves. The moral distress of clinicians can run high especially given the diverse and complex national legal environment surrounding these patients. Our expert clinical and legal guests, experienced in the daily life of the healthcare environment, will offer insight into these challenges and offer both an overview and practical solutions being tested today. Our guests in this episode include: Dr. Bethany Kapp, Board certified physician in Emergency Medicine and Palliative Care, Franciscan Health System, Tacoma, Washington. David Vukadinovich, Deputy General Counsel, CommonSpirit Health, CA Lori Dangberg, Alliance of Catholic Health Care, Sacramento, CA Thaddeus Mason Pope, Health Law Professor, Mitchell Hamline School of Law, Saint Paul, Minnesota. Jackie Glover, Professor of Pediatrics at The Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado