Some of the most conscience-wrenching situations in end-of-life care involve patients whose families insist that treatment be continued even though the medical team considers it futile. Aversion is ...

Futile Care Theory claims that doctors and hospital bioethics committees should be empowered to refuse wanted life-sustaining treatment based on their beliefs that the patient’s life is not worth ...

We are grateful for the letter of rev. dr Marcin Ferdynus, in which the author agrees that regulations in this matter are undoubtedly necessary, expresses several crucial doubts, and draws attention ...

The concept of medical futility can simply be stated in regard to an essential fact of human life: At some time in every life, disability or death will exceed our medical powers. Regardless of ...

The drive to instill Futile Care Theory is back in high gear after a bit of a respite. But here’s a pleasant surprise: One Eric Gampel, a bioethicist from California State University, Chico, pushes ...

New Jersey’s Appellate Division, in the course of dismissing a case on procedural grounds, suggested how it might address the issue of whether a health care provider may refuse to continue life ...

The media are cooing over the news that Medicare will reimburse doctors $86 for half-hour consultations about the kind of treatment patients would—or would not—want should they become incapacitated.

MY father would have been thrilled to read “Dying in America,” a new report by the Institute of Medicine that argues that we subject dying patients to too many treatments, denying them a peaceful ...

In general, the term 'medical futility' applies when, based on data and professional experience, no further treatments, procedures or tests will provide benefit and may, in fact, be more burdensome ...

I read with interest a position of the Polish Society of Internal Medicine Working Group on Medical Futility at Internal Medicine Units (WG) regarding the avoidance of medically futile therapy in ...