Physicians do not have a responsibility to provide futile or unreasonable care if a patient or family insists

摘要: Objective: This article was written to argue that physicians are not ethically obligated provide care which they consider futile, unreasonable, or both, either voluntarily in response patient surrogate demands. Data Sources: used prepare this were drawn from published articles, including original investigations, position papers, and editorials the author's personal files. Study Selection: Articles selected for their relevance subjects of medical ethics, concepts futility reasonableness, case law, healthcare reform. Extraction: The author extracted all applicable data. Synthesis: Physicians may feel clinical circumstances due single master view medicine ethical principle autonomy. However, be considered futile according several definitions word, describes treatment as something does benefit a whole. Furthermore, unreasonable if it is excessive generally agreed upon. Physician refusal supported by principles nonmaleficence, beneficence, distributive justice. last particularly relevant current climate Conclusions: Although issue physician requested has been resolved law legal statute, compelling principles. required care, especially patients who brain dead, vegetative, critically terminally ill with little chance recovery, unlikely cardiopulmonary resuscitation