Patient Autonomy Investigation Under the Technology-Based Health Care System

Abstract

With widespread advances in the diffusion and application of medical technologies, the phenomena of misuse and overuse have become pervasive. These phenomena not only increase the cost of health care systems and deplete the accessibility and availability of health care services, they also jeopardize patient autonomy. From a literature review on this aspect of medical technology, an impact on patient autonomy is found in almost all cases, with the exception of philosophical or ethical writings, in which there is not much practical application for health policy and law. In this article, the major finding is that in the area of patient autonomy, it does not matter much whether the “physician decides” or the “patient decides” in the current “disease care” health system, where most of the doctors focus only on disease treatment using aggressive medical technologies. It is also our “disease care” system that ensures that the patients, the health care professionals, or the health care management cannot safeguard their autonomy. Only when the genuine health care system is restored will patient autonomy be protected.