Tomorrow, 3/2! The Limits to Consumerism in Healthcare: A lecture by Mary Anne Bobinski

medical doctor comforting senior patient

The Limits to Consumerism in Healthcare: A lecture by Mary Anne Bobinski
March 2, 2016 12:00 PM
Wasserstein Hall, Room 1010
Harvard Law School, 1585 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA

It is often said that health care has moved from paternalism, in the form of “doctor knows best,” to consumerism, in which patients expect to be able to obtain treatment consistent with their values and preferences. This presentation will explore some of the limits to consumerism in health care, with a particular focus on circumstances where patient values or preferences conflict with provider values, professional ethics, or societal norms captured in legislation or court decisions. Considerable attention has been devoted to constraints on patient choice in areas such as abortion and end of life care. This presentation will focus more broadly on the justifications and techniques for constraining patient choice in areas such as access to assisted reproductive technologies, risky therapies, pre-exposure prophylaxis for HIV, and extreme plastic surgery. Although the discussion will focus on the U.S., selected examples from Australia, Canada, and the U.K. will also be considered.

Mary Anne Bobinski

Professor, Allard School of Law, University of British Columbia

 

 

 

Respondent: Louise P. King

Assistant Professor, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School; Director of Reproductive Ethics, Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School; Surgeon, Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center

This event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served.

Sponsored by the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School and the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School, with support from the Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund.

The Petrie-Flom Center Staff

The Petrie-Flom Center staff often posts updates, announcements, and guests posts on behalf of others.

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