ABSTRACT
The possibility of allowing patients access to health professionals, has been greatly facilitated by advances in technology. Indeed, nowadays it is possible not only direct contact between one health professional with another, but also the possibility of sending images and other tests to consult distant colleagues. This has undoubtedly enabled better health care for many patients. It is also possible for a patient to consult a doctor directly in a remote and synchronous way with oral and visual contact, thus establishing a new form of medical consultation. It is this last way of relationship, which has already spread as a practice in normal times, which arouses apprehensions about the ethical requirements that a consultation must meet. This work by the Ethics Department of the Chilean Medical Association seeks to reflect on the ethical demands of a medical consultation and on the shortcomings that teleconsultation has. It also aims to propose several recommendations, so that this new form of doctor-patient relationship serves as a complement to traditional care, without jeopardizing the objectives of a medical action.
ABSTRACT
The discussion of a bill that allows medically assisted death (MAD) in Chile, revived the debate about the ethics of this practice. The Department of Ethics of the Chilean Medical Association herein analyzes arguments in favor or against the participation of the medical profession in MAD. Among the main arguments against the participation of physicians in this practice are that MAD conflicts with the basic ethical principles of medical practice, that it is contrary to the purposes of medicine and that it could erode the patients' and society's confidence in physicians. The arguments in favor are related to physician´s compassion and non-abandonment of patients during their illness, choosing palliative care and ushering them to the final instance. Additionally, there is social expectation that this practice will be carried out by trained physicians who can verify that the strict criteria established by the legislation are met, guarantee that it obeys to a repeated request of a fully capable patient, and who is able to deal with the complications of the procedure. In this document we aimed to represent the different perspectives about physicians' participation in MAD, offering arguments to colleagues and stimulating their participation in this important debate.
Subject(s)
Humans , Suicide, Assisted , Medicine , Chile , Dissent and Disputes , Ethics, MedicalABSTRACT
Every so often, in Chile there is a discussion about the role of physicians in the care of people on hunger strike (HS). In this document, we review the ethical aspects of health care for persons in HS, aiming to provide guidelines to medical doctors who are required to attend them. First, we make an important distinction between HS and suicide, since the former is used as a protest and denunciation tool, while suicide seeks deliberately to end a life. Then we describe the three roles that the health professional can fulfill: as a treating doctor, as an expert or as an official of a prison. The respect for the autonomy and dignity of the person in HS must prevail whatever the role of the physician. Therefore, we maintain that under no circumstances, people who have autonomously decided to be in HS should be fed by force. Due to the complexity of the issue, we make special considerations about the management of minors and the non-competent persons in HS. In conclusion, we adhere to the principles that inspire the Declaration of Malta, which indicate that it would be preferable to "allow a person on hunger strike to die in dignity, rather than subjecting them to repeated interventions against their will".