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F J Illhardt

Publications and source records attributed to F J Illhardt.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

[Medical ethics in the clinical context -- a new concept by the physician Richard C. Cabot].

Richard C. Cabot was a professor of medicine and philosophy at Harvard University. He developed a very practical system of medical ethics structured by the hospital, its patients and care givers. Clearly he differentiated between a concept from an inside perspective and a concept born from an outside perspective. Thus, he opposed to the orientation to ethical codes which the American Medical Association established since 1847 (the outside perspective). The code-tradition was oriented by principles without professional context, while Cabot focused his concept of ethics rather on duty, which can not be reflected without its context (the inside perspective). This paper displays the essentials of his concept of ethics: 1) communication as the substantial core of medicine, 2) the basis in cases, 3) the multi/-interdisciplinarity, 4) the focus on the structure of therapy, i.e. care giving, 5) the respect of the patient, and 6) the obligation by truth.

Ethics, Clinical↗
PubMed1998

[Ethical aspects in the treatment of pain].

Commonly pain has been seen as a warning sign reacting to a source of pain. This process displays the wisdom of the body and its ability to function well. But this concept cannot necessarily be upheld when, due to illness, integrity of the body can be neither the presupposition nor the goal of treatment. The ethical question is not to decide which perspective (pain as a vital sign or pain as catastrophe) is the dominant one. Medical ethics must acknowledge pain as a process of human destruction, and it must interpret the treatment of pain as an endeavour which makes life possible again, or strengthens its remaining elements. When pain goes beyond the resources of the human being to form his/her life, the border between meaningful and meaningless pain is crossed. A case from an obstetrical ward is used to demonstrate three central principles of the treatment of pain: (1) Understanding the pain as the end of all interests, as making life a burden or as evacuating the ego. 2. Respect of the autonomy of the patient by informing him/her about the experiences which he/she gets rid of during analgesia, or by establishing the possibilities that PCA or time-contingent medication offer. 3. The multidimensional therapy of pain: i.e. all groups of caregivers must be involved, because it is not important to know which perspective is the best, but that no single perspective can stand alone. These principles must be taken into account even when the possibilities of effective pain relief are exhausted. Sometimes the debate on the practice of euthanasia seems to replace the medical goal of honest treatment of the patient's pain.

English Abstract↗
PubMed1998

[Suicide in the elderly: collapse of value orientation?].

Suicide of the aged has often been understood as a careful deliberation of the quintessence of life. Nevertheless, it displays the breakdown or the entire lack of value orientation. Some gerontologists have come to terms with the fact that the ideal of value-free living results in the suicidality of the aged. Suicide seems to be a probable solution of their problems. But values regulate the social existence of humans. Accordingly, this paper considers suicide of the aged to be a result of this disorientation. Thus, it demands first of all that a rich set of values has to be developed, and secondly, that adequate resources of values have to be proposed. This can be achieved by four steps: 1) distance from the critical situation, 2) combination of interaction and mutual appreciation, 3) analyzing the reduced set of values, and 4) opening new priorities and preferences.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

[Palliative pain therapy--medico-ethical arguments].

The phenomenon pain expressed on an imaginary scale stretches from one end to the other between an event localized anywhere in the body to a condition menacing human existence as a whole, threatening i.e. the confidence in the sense of survival and wishes and goals for life. Whenever healing in the sense of a restitutio ad integrum is no longer possible, palliative strategies for pain relief have to be contemplated and questions about the right moment to abandon causal treatment, about what it means to orientate life on illness to be answered. Focus of discussion is on pain relief: 1. superior to all other therapeutic goals, 2. supporting human identity, 3. as key for the discovery of the meaningful present moment.

Decision Making↗
PubMed1994

[Not Available].

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History, 20th Century↗
PubMed1993

[Responsibility of the physician].

The more difficult it is to reach consensus as to the ethical framework for action, the greater the challenge to individuals to take the responsibility for the consequences of their actions and to be accountable to others and themselves. First and foremost, both responsibility and accountability imply providing answers to those who question the reasons for an action. Thus, responsibility presupposes that agents must know that their actions will have consequences, that these consequences must be intended, and furthermore, they must be justified as consequences which are known and intended. With reference to a case study, this paper discusses these points on four levels: 1) the medical standards, 2) the integration of the patient's intention and sense of well-being, 3) the institutional framework for action, and 4) the assessment of the action in its relation to the universal question whether it is good for all human beings.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1992

[Not Available].

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Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1992

["I want to join my Peterle". Anthropological and ethical considerations of sexuality and suicidal behavior in the elderly].

Sexuality and suicidality express man being competent to shape his/her own life. From the bioethical point of view both phenomena are connected by shortening and fulfilling as well as autonomy. Considerations are provided for the physician to assist the aged being competent. Adequate framework is related to a concept of values guide living together. Thus tenderness and communication are appropriate levels of sexuality. Therefore they are to be integrated into the physician's concept of sexuality. For suicidality that means not to rescue life in a biological sense, but helping the elderly people making their life fulfilled and determining their life competent.

Aged↗
PubMed1992

[Hermeneutics of the quality of life concept].

Medicine looks for reasonable criteria solving the problem of fair allocation of resources, assessing risks or discontinuing treatment. Further a reasonable measure is required for treating or accepting life in a reduced stage. The term "quality of life" seems to be like that. But it is generated by social politics and its problem, i.e. what people need for living, and does not ask whether a special treatment is useful for a patient. Thus the term should be used as follows: 1) only from patient's perspective, 2) as an undefinable term related to an "anthropologia negativa", and 3) reconstructing patient's preferences.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1991

[Ethics committees: medical treatment counseling or prescribing?].

Ethics committees react to the crisis of justification of both research and treatment in modern medicine. Their composition, functioning, task, and identity depend on the question if they consider themselves as instruments of controller consultation. The more moral thinking in medicine is oriented towards support for reasoning, towards consultation for solving conflicts of motivation, and in elucidation interests the more ethics committees will succeed in becoming institutions of consultation by ethical reasoning in medicine.

Ethics Committees↗
PubMedDate not supplied

["Ageism": prejudice against age].

Prejudices against the aged are called ageism. A case demonstrates its obscure effects. Ageism is seen as antipathy or hate, too. But a common societal reality of ageism is not being able to take different perspectives. Seeing the challenge of a concrete clinical situation means varying the ethical perspectives both care and fairness. According to that, "multidimensional" assessment characterizes geriatrics. Examples for not being able to take varying perspectives are given when adults are confronted with suicide, sexuality/tenderness, convictions, depression, religiosity, reduced memory capacity, quality of life, incontinence, dying etc. of the aged. The paper shows three ways of controlling cognitive and affective dimensions of prejudices in general.

Activities of Daily Living↗