Requests for treatment that are deemed
medically inappropriate, often referred to as requests or demands for "futile
treatment," constitute one of the most intractable ethical challenges in the care
of patients. Various attempts to address the issue go back well over 20 years,
yet it seems as if very little progress has been made in preventing, reducing,
or successfully resolving these situations. This webinar described the efforts
of SSM Health Care in St. Louis, MO to move beyond unsuccessful approaches to
the challenge of "futility" and to develop an alternative approach based on
an understanding of the root causes of requests for medically
inappropriate treatments. It also reported initial results of a pilot
program.
Presenter: Michael Panicola, Corporate Vice President,
Ethics, SSM Health Care.
This is a recording of the webinar held on September 23,
2009.
Run time: 60 minutes
System Requirements: