Can a patient designate his doctor as his proxy decision maker? Pediatrics 2013 May;131(5):986-90
Date
05/01/2013Pubmed ID
23629617DOI
10.1542/peds.2012-3690Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84877061258 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 7 CitationsAbstract
Most lawyers and bioethicists recommend that patients enact a durable power of attorney for health care designating somebody as their proxy decision maker should they become unable to make decisions. Most people choose family members as their agent. But what if a patient wants his or her doctor to be his or her proxy decision maker? Can the doctor be both physician and surrogate decision maker? Or should those roles necessarily be kept separate? We present a case in which those issues arose, and sought comments from Sabrina Derrington, a pediatric palliative care physician; Arthur Derse, an emergency department physician and lawyer; and Phil Black, a pulmonologist.
Author List
Black PG, Derse AR, Derrington S, Lantos JDAuthor
Arthur R. Derse MD, JD Director, Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of WisconsinMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
Advance DirectivesCystic Fibrosis
Decision Making
Humans
Lung Transplantation
Male
Physician-Patient Relations
Proxy
Reoperation
Risk Assessment
United States
Young Adult
