The Surrogate Decision-Maker: More Than Just a Perfunctory Signature

Needs Statement

Staff physicians and other allied health professionals at the BSLMC need to be regularly updated on the guidelines and challenges related to ethics consultation, clinical ethics practice and the role of ethics in shared clinical decision-making. The series aims to increase knowledge of the learners in these topic areas, and to provide the skills and tools for their implementation in clinical practice in order to enhance the quality of patient care.

Educational Objectives

At the conclusion of the session, the participants should be able to:

• Describe several common misconceptions about surrogate decision-making in health care.
• Explore the roles of surrogate decision-makers, including their ethical foundations and legal obligations.
• Apply legal and ethical frameworks to determine the appropriate surrogate decision-maker in everyday health care practice.

Target Audience

Accreditation/Credit Designation

Baylor College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

Baylor College of Medicine designates this enduring material activity for a maximum of 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Activity Director

Savitri Fedson, M.D.

Associate Professor

Center for Medical Ethics and Health Policy

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, TX, US

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Disclosure Policy

Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education (CME) for physicians. BCM is committed to sponsoring CE activities that are scientifically based, accurate, current, and objectively presented.

In accordance with the ACCME Standards for Commercial Support, BCM has implemented a mechanism requiring everyone in a position to control the content of an educational activity (i.e., directors, planning committee members, faculty) to disclose any relevant financial relationships with commercial interests (drug/device companies) and manage/resolve any conflicts of interest prior to the activity. Individuals must disclose to participants the existence or non-existence of financial relationships at the time of the activity or within 24 months prior.

In addition, BCM has requested activity faculty/presenters to disclose to participants any unlabeled use or investigational use of pharmaceutical/device products; to use scientific or generic names (not trade names) in referring to products; and, if necessary to use a trade name, to use the names of similar products or those within a class. Faculty/presenters have also been requested to adhere to the ACCME's validation of clinical content statements.

BCM does not view the existence of financial relationships with commercial interests as implying bias or decreasing the value of a presentation. It is up to participants to determine whether the relationships influence the activity faculty with regard to exposition or conclusions. If at any time during this activity you feel that there has been commercial/promotional bias, notify the Activity Director or Activity Coordinator. Please answer the questions about balance and objectivity in the activity evaluation candidly.

All of the relevant financial relationships listed for these individuals have been mitigated.