- Browse by Subject
Browsing by Subject "health care surrogates"
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Surrogate Decision Makers and Proxy Ownership: Challenges of Privacy Management in Health Care Decision Making(Taylor and Francis, 2015-08) Bute, Jennifer J.; Petronio, Sandra; Torke, Alexia M.; Department of Communication Studies, School of Liberal ArtsThis study explored the communicative experiences of surrogates who served as decision makers for patients who were unable to convey health information and choices about treatment options. Drawing on assumptions from communication privacy management theory (Petronio, 2002), 35 surrogates were interviewed to explore how they navigated the role of guardian of patients’ private health information while the patient was hospitalized. This research determined that not only are surrogates guardians and thereby co-owners of the patients’ private health information, they actually served in a “proxy ownership” role. Surrogates described obstacles to both obtaining and sharing private health information about the patient, suggesting that their rights as legitimate co-owners of the patients’ information were not fully acknowledged by the medical teams. Surrogates also described challenges in performing the proxy ownership role when they were not fully aware of the patient’s wishes. Theoretical and practical implications of these challenges are discussed.Item "What do you Mean I Cannot Consent For My Grandmother's Medical Procedure?": Key Issues With State Default Surrogate Decision Making Laws(2017) Comer, Amber R.; Gaffney, Margaret; Stone, Cynthia; Torke, Alexia; Health Sciences, School of Health and Rehabilitation SciencesWhen a patient is unable to make medical decisions, a health care surrogate must be designated to make decisions on the patient's behalf. Studies show that fewer than 20% of patients have completed health care representative forms to legally designate a surrogate. Without a prior designation, surrogates are determined via state statute. Currently, there is no up-to-date comprehensive evaluation of state surrogate legislation. A survey of state legislative codes was conducted to determine: 1) whether the state has a default surrogate statute; 2) who is included as an acceptable legal surrogate; and 3) whether there is a hierarchy to determine a final decision-maker. Currently, 36 states have enacted some form of surrogate statute. There is little consistency between states regarding who may serve as a surrogate decision- maker. The key challenges with state laws include: 1) a narrow list of persons who qualify as allowable legal surrogates; and 2) a lack of a hierarchy to determine a final decision-maker. The results of this survey show that state surrogate decision making laws have many flaws which could affect patient care. The narrow construction of state laws can leave patients in situations where they either have no qualified surrogate under the law, or where they have multiple surrogates with competing interests who may be unable to reach consensus on the patient's medical care. State laws need to be changed so that they accurately reflect the realities of clinical practice and expanded to allow a broader spectrum of potential surrogates.