病人家属参与医疗决定之法律研究

在我国目前的收入结构与医疗体制之下,对于大多数人而言,一旦面对大的病患风险,家属往往是其医疗成本以及医疗后果的直接承担者。当医疗决定牵涉到家庭成员的重大利益时,患者自主权应该受到家属决定权的制约。病人并非如病患自主理论所预设的前提一样是一个自由且理性的选择者,而是一个组织社群所有关系的总和,因此个人自决并不应该豁免其社群义务,尤其是对于家庭之义务。即使是成年具有意思能力病人其家属亦应具有相应的权利。

A Legal Analysis of Patient Family's Right to Participate in Making Medical Decisions

This Paper is an analysis of Patient Family's authority to participate in medical decision-making. It argues the reasons call for the participation of patient family, and suggest different mode to the different kinds of patients: competent adults, incompetent adults. First, the patients are competent adults, to harmonize patient's autonomy and patient family's interest, members of the patients' family should have a participatory role in the medical decision-making, without depriving patient's to make the ultimate decision. Second, in making decisions for incompetent adults, the patient family's principal authority should be limited by the patients' best interests.