The principle of autonomy in Brazil: one needs to discuss it ...

The principle of patient autonomy is a cornerstone of bioethics. According to this concept, patients should be given the power to make decisions related to their treatment. It is an important component of modern medical ethics, which has received much interest in current literature. However, the rat...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Odile Nogueira Ugarte, Marcus André Acioly
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões
Series:Revista do Colégio Brasileiro de Cirurgiões
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0100-69912014000500374&lng=en&tlng=en
Description
Summary:The principle of patient autonomy is a cornerstone of bioethics. According to this concept, patients should be given the power to make decisions related to their treatment. It is an important component of modern medical ethics, which has received much interest in current literature. However, the rate of participation of patients and their willingness to participate are variable according to the cultural, social and family environments in which they are inserted. The aim of this paper is to promote a brief descriptive review on autonomy, the preferences of patients and the use of informed consent as an instrument for the exercise of autonomy in literature, and to stress the lack of debate, as well as the pressing need for discussion of these current issues nationwide.
ISSN:1809-4546