Do physicians’ beliefs influence treatment options at the end of life?

Who Decides Who Should Benefit? Allocating Critical Care in the Context of “Futile Treatment”*

“…The medical litera ture of past 3 decades contains an intense debate addressing the concept of futility, and ultimately there is no consensus regarding an objective definition (7). The implications for using this definition are disconcerting, as the values and beliefs of the treating physi cian have been shown to influence whether comfort care is provided as an option, influencing life and death decisions (8). Therefore, whether or not a patient is receiving futile treatm ent depends on the value system and viewpoint of the treating physician.…”