Minimizing harm via psychological intervention: response to Glannon.
In a recent discussion, Walter Glannon discusses a number of ways we might try to minimise harm to patients who experience intraoperative awareness. In this response, I direct attention to a possibility that deserves further attention. It might be that a kind of psychological intervention--namely, informing patients of the possibility of intraoperative awareness and of what to expect in such a case--would constitute a unique way to respect patient autonomy, as well as minimise the harm that typically follows intraoperative awareness events.
Joshua
J
Shepherd
D000758:Anesthesia; D006801:Humans
Anaesthetics / Anesthesiology; Autonomy; Consciousness; Moral Psychology