Ethics consultations play a crucial role in addressing ethical dilemmas that arise in patient care, particularly in cases involving complex medical decision-making. These ethical challenges often emerge due to uncertainty about a patient’s prognosis, conflicts in values regarding the appropriate course of treatment, or differing interpretations of ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. For example, ethical dilemmas may arise in situations where there is disagreement about whether to continue or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for a critically ill patient, particularly when surrogate decision-makers have conflicting perspectives on what aligns with the patient’s wishes. Other common ethical issues include concerns about medical futility, when healthcare providers believe further treatment is unlikely to benefit the patient, but family members request continued interventions. Ethics consultations may also be necessary when patients or their families express concerns about informed consent, such as when a patient lacks decision-making capacity and there is uncertainty about who should act as the surrogate decision-maker. Additionally, conflicts may emerge in cases involving the refusal of recommended medical treatment due to religious or cultural beliefs, as well as when clinicians face challenges in balancing the duty to respect patient autonomy with the need to prevent harm. Ethical concerns can also arise in pediatric care, where parents and medical teams may struggle to determine what is in the child’s best interest, particularly in cases involving rare diseases, experimental treatments, or disagreements about end-of-life care. Ethics consultations serve multiple functions, including clarifying ethical uncertainties for an individual, mediating conflicts within a family, and facilitating resolution among multiple stakeholders, such as between families and the healthcare team, among family members, or across different groups of healthcare professionals. By providing structured ethical analysis and guidance, ethics consultations can help foster consensus, improve communication, and support decision-making that aligns with ethical and legal standards. The literature suggests that ethics consultations may have beneficial effects on the quality of care, as well as on clinical outcomes, by reducing unnecessary treatments, enhancing patient-centered care, and mitigating moral distress among healthcare providers. However, further research is needed to explore the ethical concerns of families when a loved one is hospitalized, including their experiences with decision-making, perceptions of fairness in care, and the emotional and psychological impact of ethical dilemmas.

The Role of Ethics Consultation in Enhancing Family-Centered Care

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发表日期：

2025年

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Henry J. Silverman

摘要

Ethics consultations play a crucial role in addressing ethical dilemmas that arise in patient care, particularly in cases involving complex medical decision-making. These ethical challenges often emerge due to uncertainty about a patient’s prognosis, conflicts in values regarding the appropriate course of treatment, or differing interpretations of ethical principles such as autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice. For example, ethical dilemmas may arise in situations where there is disagreement about whether to continue or withdraw life-sustaining treatment for a critically ill patient, particularly when surrogate decision-makers have conflicting perspectives on what aligns with the patient’s wishes. Other common ethical issues include concerns about medical futility, when healthcare providers believe further treatment is unlikely to benefit the patient, but family members request continued interventions. Ethics consultations may also be necessary when patients or their families express concerns about informed consent, such as when a patient lacks decision-making capacity and there is uncertainty about who should act as the surrogate decision-maker. Additionally, conflicts may emerge in cases involving the refusal of recommended medical treatment due to religious or cultural beliefs, as well as when clinicians face challenges in balancing the duty to respect patient autonomy with the need to prevent harm. Ethical concerns can also arise in pediatric care, where parents and medical teams may struggle to determine what is in the child’s best interest, particularly in cases involving rare diseases, experimental treatments, or disagreements about end-of-life care. Ethics consultations serve multiple functions, including clarifying ethical uncertainties for an individual, mediating conflicts within a family, and facilitating resolution among multiple stakeholders, such as between families and the healthcare team, among family members, or across different groups of healthcare professionals. By providing structured ethical analysis and guidance, ethics consultations can help foster consensus, improve communication, and support decision-making that aligns with ethical and legal standards. The literature suggests that ethics consultations may have beneficial effects on the quality of care, as well as on clinical outcomes, by reducing unnecessary treatments, enhancing patient-centered care, and mitigating moral distress among healthcare providers. However, further research is needed to explore the ethical concerns of families when a loved one is hospitalized, including their experiences with decision-making, perceptions of fairness in care, and the emotional and psychological impact of ethical dilemmas.