title: Futile medical treatment and patient consent.
abstract: What are a physician's ethical responsibilities when a patient or surrogate demands futile life-saving treatment? Recent attempts to define medical futility have implications for physician responsibility and may create exceptions to acquiring patient consent. Wording is proposed for a "futility clause" for use in do-not-resuscitate policies.
authors.affiliation: Department of Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, OH 44195.
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Smith
mesh_terms: D032921:Consensus; D003657:Decision Making; D030881:Disclosure; D028741:Ethics Committees, Clinical; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D008020:Life Support Care; D016134:Organizational Policy; D026706:Paternalism; D010358:Patient Participation; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D016414:Resuscitation Orders; D012945:Social Values; D028761:Withholding Treatment