Respecting Patient Autonomy

Against a backdrop of real clinical situations, Benjamin H. Levi examines the dynamics that shape relations between patient and health care provider, addressing fundamental questions about how medical decisions should be reached and compelling the reader to think about health care issues and decisions in terms of the values and goals they promote. Presenting bioethics as a practical, educational activity rather than an abstract intellectual exercise, this important volume shows how dialogue between patients and health care providers can clarify both medical and ethical issues, promoting patient autonomy and advancing health care.

Review :
"Many discussions of bioethics, unfortunately, are arid and abstract, with little application to the real, often thorny world. Respecting PatientAutonomy ... tries to bring the subject to earth, making it more human... A clear, well-written exploration of a vital ethical issue." - Doug Wyatt, Savannah, Georgia News "Especially for those who seek a greater insight into the complexities of what it means to respect individual patients' choices. His book is enlivened by examples of clinical dialogues... The great value of this book is the sustained argument for the moral necessity for health care practitioners to treat patients as moral equals. As such, he comes up with a cogent and coherent approach to an important aspect of bioethics from which all can learn." - Myles N. Sheehan, America ADVANCE PRAISE "Deploying his skills as both physician and philosopher, Dr. Levi argues that until health professionals are willing to engage patients in extended, meaningful dialogue regarding major decisions, 'respect for autonomy' will remain merely a shadow of what it could and ought to be."- Howard Brody, author of Ethical Decisions in Medicine "Clinical bioethics has acquired a new and powerful supporting voice in the work of Dr. Benjamin H. Levi, who demonstrates that consultation can be critical in redressing the imbalances of power in a health care system shaped by market forces and characterized by inequities in access to care."- Nancy Neveloff Dubler, director, Division of Bioethics, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York "Well written, clear, and helpful in thinking about the thorny problems of patient self-determination. It is an eloquent and vigorous defense of treating human beings as self-determining adults."- John Lachs, author of Responsibility and theIndividual in Modern Society "For too many physicians and health care providers patient autonomy is either an obstacle or a pipedream... The task of empowering patients to recognize and use their autonomy is not an easy one, but Levi succeeds in showing what steps need to be taken to progress toward this important goal."- Arthur L. Caplan,Director, Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania Health System