The law should ensure, through a second medical opinion if necessary, that assistance will only be available if and when a competent physician judges that there is no other way left to relieve the
patient of his or her misery.
So if you do use an ototoxic drop in an open eardrum, you should inform the
patient of the risk and you should perform audiometry before and after treatment.
* Inform the
patient of his or her diagnosis, the risks and results of taking the medication, and alternatives, including comfort care, hospice care, and pain control.
Clinical ethical issues e.g., responding to refusal by a demented
patient of life-saving treatment--reach managerial levels in institutions, e.g., in the work of ethics committees and ethics consultants.
6) Is there any alternative by which the therapeutic goal can be achieved without depriving the
patient of his or her liberty?
Advising the
patient of his concern, the consultant suggests hospitalization for biopsy confirmation and, after additional testing, to consider the treatment options.