The National Rural Bioethics Project has developed some tools to help helthcare providers address ethics related issues and assist patients and families make informed decisions.
Ethical Decision-Making Map helps identify the various perspectives that have to be considered when resolving ethics-related issues. In many respects, it helps identify, on a very practical level, who does what to whom and how.
Developing Organizational Standards helps identify the organizational framework in which healthcare decisions are made. It helps healthcare providers understand the different standards that may be at play.
The Guide for Patient and Family Decision-Making is designed to facilitate dialogue among patients, families and healthcare providers. In our studies, patients and families said they had little understanding of important issues and often did not know whom to contact when problems developed.
Photos courtesy of Dudley Dana, Dana Gallery