Question

What probability of success determines whether a treatment is worth undertaking (a question of odds), and what quality of outcome is worth undertaking a treatment (a question of ends)? Does the justice principle affect how much decision-making power and authority health care professionals should have in debating the odds-and-ends of treatment decisions? Does the principle of personal autonomy require the odds-and-ends of treatment decisions be shared with the patient receiving the care? Alternatively, should patients have absolute authority to decide what treatment odds-and-ends they will accept?

This is for a discussion post! Please provide 250 words in your response! Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

In recent years, multiple researches were conducted in several medical areas to find out odds ratio and risk reduction to judge or decide the medical decision making. Yet it needs a clear picture to conclude the odds and end treatment decision by majority of the doctors. As the studies done so far have not explained all the criteria to be looked for, or it may concentrate on either the risks alone or the outcome alone. And also the patients assessed were of with different diseases with difference in their severity treated with different drugs, different treatment modalities, different set up and so on. Few research articles spoke about the absolute risks, some with relative risk, some with risk reduction factors, and others with odds ratio. Physician have to choose their own according to the measure and the patient setting which may be appropriate.

And of course, patients have an absolute authority to decide their own after getting a clear understanding about the odds and ends about the treatment. As they are going to get benefitted out of it or even the losses on it. Healthcare professionals have sole responsibility to make patient understand about the treatment options with their odds and ends.

clear explanation about the treatment and counseling plays an essential role in making the patient gets convinced for the physician decision.

Just to have a clear odds and ends in a medical decision, extensive researches needed further to overcome the flaws in previous studies in all the aspects.