Wow! eBook
Medical Futility: A Cross-National Study
Author(s): Alireza Bagheri (Author)
- Publisher: Imperial College Press
- Publication Date: 8 Sept. 2013
- Edition: 1st
- Language: English
- Print length: 300 pages
- ISBN-10: 1848169906
- ISBN-13: 9781848169906
Book Description
Medical futility is a controversial issue not only in its definition but also in its application. There are few books on the subject, and those in existence mostly focus on the situation in the United States. This title, however, provides extensive international perspectives on medical futility. This book will benefit healthcare professionals as well as health policy makers around the world. It allows them to see how different countries approach the issue of medical futility and their experiences in dealing with this issue. The complexity of the issue, and in particular how some countries innovatively address it in an ethically sound manner, is clearly presented.
Editorial Reviews
Review
“The topic of futility is at once important and controversial. Important because it deals with a critical element of end-of-life care, and yet controversial because of disagreements about its meaning and use. This superb collection of papers deals well and fully with those elements, and in a rich global context.” — Daniel Callahan, President Emeritus of the Hastings Center “As medical costs continue to escalate internationally and technology offers more and more chances of prolonging the length of life – but not necessarily its quality – it is vital that we think more clearly and systematically about what can be justifiably described as medically futile . Dr Bagheri’s edited volume is a major contribution to this highly topical subject, and one of its great strengths is its international scope, with scholarly contributors from a wide range of countries in Europe, the Americas, Australia and Asia. The book should become a standard text for all courses in healthcare ethics.” —Alastair V Campbell , Chen Su Lan Centennial Professor in Medical Ethics, National University of Singapore
“Medical futility – a term that is often used but seldom clearly understood – is the quintessential bioethics topic, combining as it does philosophical questions about the ends of medicine, central issues in physician-patient and patient-family relations, and controversies about societal obligations to continue care that can extend life but not restore functioning. It is thus perfect for the sort of comparative examination that this cross-national volume so richly provides. The chapters are individually fascinating, while collectively illuminating how historical, cultural, economic, political and philosophical differences make medical futility such a rich subject for study and such a difficult issue to resolve clinically.” —Alexander M Capron, University Professor, University of Southern California;, former Director of Ethics, Trade, Human Rights and Health Law, World Health Organization
“Medical futility – a term that is often used but seldom clearly understood – is the quintessential bioethics topic, combining as it does philosophical questions about the ends of medicine, central issues in physician-patient and patient-family relations, and controversies about societal obligations to continue care that can extend life but not restore functioning. It is thus perfect for the sort of comparative examination that this cross-national volume so richly provides. The chapters are individually fascinating, while collectively illuminating how historical, cultural, economic, political and philosophical differences make medical futility such a rich subject for study and such a difficult issue to resolve clinically.” —Alexander M Capron, University Professor, University of Southern California;, former Director of Ethics, Trade, Human Rights and Health Law, World Health Organization
From the Back Cover
Medical futility is a controversial issue not only in its definition but also in its application. There are few books on the subject, and those in existence mostly focus on the situation in the United States. This title, however, provides extensive international perspectives on medical futility.
This book will benefit healthcare professionals as well as health policy makers around the world. It allows them to see how different countries approach the issue of medical futility and their experiences in dealing with this issue. The complexity of the issue, and in particular how some countries innovatively address it in an ethically sound manner, is clearly presented.
