Abstract
Ethics, at its most fundamental level, is a way to answer the question, “what should we do?”. In this chapter, I define what “ethical dilemmas” are and discuss one approach for resolving them. I discuss informed consent, surrogate decision-making, futility, and refusal of care. I analyze the current state of disparities in surgical outcomes by race and socioeconomic status. Finally, I consider the problem of financial conflicts of interest and the recent “Sunshine law.”
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© 2019 ASCRS (American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons)
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Keune, J.D. (2019). Ethical Issues in Colorectal Surgery. In: Steele, S., Hull, T., Hyman, N., Maykel, J., Read, T., Whitlow, C. (eds) The ASCRS Manual of Colon and Rectal Surgery. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01165-9_67
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01165-9_67
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Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
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Online ISBN: 978-3-030-01165-9
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