Six years ago, we proposed a patient benefit-centered definition of medical futility that
included both quantitative and qualitative components. We distinguished between an effect …

The notion of medical futility has quantitative and qualitative roots that offer a practical
approach to its definition and application. Applying these traditions to contemporary medical …

Futility is hardly a novel idea in medicine. Its roots in ancient medicine go back at least to the
fifth-century BC physician Hippocrates. 1, 2 Yet debates over its meaning and ethical …

ALTHOUGH THE termfutilityis actively used in medical discourse, critics object to the
concept, calling it" elusive," 1" unsettling"(Am Med News. November 11, 1991: 28)," …

" The book is a fine addition to the world of academic medical ethics... Readers... will come
away with some of the tools for further debate."--Publishers Weekly" Susan B. Rubin's …

The thesis I want to set forth in this commentary is as follows: The term futility is in a parlous
state suffering from vagueness in definition, clinically unpleasant connotations, and intense …

Despite substantial controversy, the use of futility judgments in medicine is quite common,
and has been backed by the implementation of hospital policies and professional guidelines …

The claim that a treatment is futile is often used to justify a shift in the physician's ethical
obligations to patients. In clinical situations in which non-futile treatments are available, the …

Between 1987 and 1996, the concept of “medical futility” was debated in the medical
community with a vehemence that few philosophical concepts elicit. Before 1987, the …

“Medical futility” may be provisionally defined as a medical conclusion that a therapy is of no
value to a patient and should not be prescribed. The current debate about medical futility is …