Ethics in Prehospital Emergency Medicine: An Ethical Dilemma in Patient Communication

Abstract: This case report discusses an ethical dilemma about consent and patient autonomy from prehospital emergency services. It is argued that the dilemma involves deep ethical problems, and that these problems have not received sufficient attention in the literature on the ethical dimension of emergency medicine and prehospital provider-patient communication. The discussion illustrates a general point: Focusing on ethics and communication falls under the more general task of elucidating non-technical skills. In recent years it has been widely recognized that non-technical skills are of crucial importance in emergency work and prehospital patient care (1, 2, 3). Knowledge of ethical caring frameworks is an essential element of non-technical skills, and such frameworks should therefore receive more attention in education and practice that aim to prepare emergency personnel for difficult situations. This case report discusses an ethical dilemma about consent and patient autonomy from prehospital emergency services. It is argued that the dilemma involves deep ethical problems, and that these problems have not received sufficient attention in the literature on the ethical dimension of emergency medicine and prehospital provider-patient communication. The discussion illustrates a general point: Focusing on ethics and communication falls under the more general task of elucidating non-technical skills. In recent years it has been widely recognized that non-technical skills are of crucial importance in emergency work and prehospital patient care (1, 2, 3). Knowledge of ethical caring frameworks is an essential element of non-technical skills, and such frameworks should therefore receive more attention in education and practice that aim to prepare emergency personnel for difficult situations.