Competing and conflicting interests in the care of critically ill patients.

Link to article at PubMed

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Competing and conflicting interests in the care of critically ill patients.

Intensive Care Med. 2018 Jul 25;:

Authors: Turnbull AE, Sahetya SK, Biddison ELD, Hartog CS, Rubenfeld GD, Benoit DD, Guidet B, Gerritsen RT, Tonelli MR, Curtis JR

Abstract
Medical professionals are expected to prioritize patient interests, and most patients trust physicians to act in their best interest. However, a single patient is never a physician's sole concern. The competing interests of other patients, clinicians, family members, hospital administrators, regulators, insurers, and trainees are omnipresent. While prioritizing patient interests is always a struggle, it is especially challenging and important in the ICU setting where most patients lack the ability to advocate for themselves or seek alternative sources of care. This review explores factors that increase the risk, or the perception, that an ICU physician will reason, recommend, or act in a way that is not in their patient's best interest and discusses steps that could help minimize the impact of these factors on patient care.

PMID: 30046872 [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

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