Paternalism

Strictly speaking, the right and duty of parents to override the preferences of their children in favor of their real or true interests. In this sense, negative connotations need not be attached to the concept. Paternalism in the context of health care is constituted by any action, decision, rule, or policy made by a physician or other care-giver, or a government, that dictates what is best for the patient(s) without considering the patient’s own beliefs and value system and does not respect patient autonomy. In this sense, negative connotations are usually attached to the concept, since it is properly the competent patient’s right to determine what is truly in his or her own best interest. Due to their having medical expertise that the patient does not possess, physicians and other healthcare providers have an obligation to act beneficently toward the patient in recommending treatments that truly benefit the patient. This expertise, however, does not give the physician or others the right to make decisions for the patient. Competent patients exercise the right to advance their own health and welfare by providing or withholding informed consent to the medical procedures recommended by their physicians.

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