Are patients morally responsible for their errors?

Journal of Medical Ethics
Stephen Buetow, Glyn Elwyn

Abstract

Amid neglect of patients' contribution to error has been a failure to ask whether patients are morally responsible for their errors. This paper aims to help answer this question and so define a worthy response to the errors. Recent work on medical errors has emphasised system deficiencies and discouraged finding people to blame. We scrutinize this approach from an incompatibilist, agent causation position and draw on Hart's taxonomy of four senses of moral responsibility: role responsibility; capacity responsibility; causal responsibility; and liability responsibility. Each sense is shown to contribute to an overall theoretical judgment as to whether patients are morally responsible for their errors (and success in avoiding them). Though how to weight the senses is unclear, patients appear to be morally responsible for the avoidable errors they make, contribute to or can influence.

References

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Citations

Oct 25, 2011·The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy·Y Michael Barilan
Dec 7, 2007·Journal of Medical Ethics·H M Evans
Mar 17, 2015·Expert Opinion on Drug Safety·José Joaquín MiraVirtudes Pérez-Jover
Dec 9, 2014·Health Expectations : an International Journal of Public Participation in Health Care and Health Policy·Marina HirjabaMari Kangasniemi
Jan 16, 2007·Lancet·Stephen Buetow, Glyn Elwyn
Nov 20, 2016·Journal of Clinical Nursing·Mari KangasniemiAnna-Maija Pietilä
Dec 6, 2011·Nursing Ethics·Mari KangasniemiAnna-Maija Pietilä
Sep 23, 2006·Scandinavian Journal of Public Health·Gisela Dahlquist
Jun 19, 2019·Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology·Kristien Hens
May 19, 2020·Health Care Analysis : HCA : Journal of Health Philosophy and Policy·Sandip Talukdar

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