DB responses

DB1

Svetlana P Burroughs

Mar 25, 2021 16:42

The story of James Mannix shows a lack of communication between the provider and the parents. The parents found out about their child’s transport to a heart center as they walked to see him in the NICU. The hospital transferred the minor child without parental consent. Furthermore, it appears that the surgeon did not communicate clearly about all possible treatment options for James’ condition and did not specify the potential outcomes of each option with James’ parents. The parents should have had an opportunity to make an informed decision about their son’s treatment options based on all available options. In my opinion, the neonatal cardiologist should have provided all available treatment options to James’ parents and discussed all possible outcomes of each, so that the parents were informed and involved in the decision. Also, healthcare providers should have allowed parental participation during James’ care, not just during visitor’s hours. Patient-centered communication is missing in this case.  No one was there for James; no one was there to comfort him during his short journey. This is a very sad story that could have been potentially avoided had communication between the providers and the parents been better.

DB2

Anthony

Mar 27, 2021 20:27

At what points in the diagnosis and treatment of James did informed consent process breakdown?

There were several single points of failure in the informed consent process. The start of the breakdown was when the family was left in the waiting room without any update or rather minimal communication on James. Among all other communication lapses, Mary Ellen spoke to the point that the family's understanding and intentions for their son differed wildly from the understanding and intentions of the physicians/hospital.

What do you think James' Health Care Providers should have done differently to effectively communicate James' parents?

In my honest opinion, James' health care providers could have easily kept the family informed. Every action that was taken that could affect anything from their Son's living state to his comfort level should have be told to the family/requested consent. This could have potentially alleviated/mitigated major issues that arose. 

DB 3

Devin McPherson

Mar 31, 2021 00:23

According to the American Medicine Association, "Informed consent to medical treatment is fundamental in both ethics and law. Patients have the right to receive information and ask questions about recommended treatments so that they can make well-considered decisions about care. Successful communication in the patient-physician relationship fosters trust and supports shared decision making." James mannix and his family were not afforded any portion of this definition. The complete disregard for his parents right to know, his safety and the overall neglectful treatment he received at the hospital were both shocking and utterly unprofessional. As my peers have mentioned, the medical professionals involved made emergency decisions for a child without clearly explaining to his parents why, then neglected him the attention and used faulty machinery on him. The obvious solution to these problems was tell the parents what was going on and how they intended to fix the situation, check all medical equipment before performing dangerous procedures and never leave an unattended child or any patient for the matter alone. Correcting any of the following may have prevented the chaos that ensued, but what I found most intriguing was the value of informed consent. Prior to this discussion I had a vague understanding of it's value, but now I see how imperative it actually is. Informed consent protects and educates us on matters we may not fully understand. This is imperative, because it allows us to make educated choices and at the very least mentally prepare ourselves for whatever is about to happen. Without it, we are essentially giving someone else control of our bodies with no understanding of what they intend to do. Informed consent may not be medical in nature, because it has no effect on the actual procedure after the person consents, but it is necessary to trust  the physician's or surgeons skill set and overall plan. 

https://www.ama-assn.org/