What Counts as a Surrogate Decision?

When patients lose decision-making capacity, others must make surrogate decisions on their behalf. What counts as a surrogate decision might seem self-evident. But as clinician-researchers in the field of advance care planning, we have found that it is not always so clear-cut. In this paper, we describe how and why this is a matter of concern, a novel approach for assessing whether a surrogate decision occurred, and findings from this assessment.

Automated summary

When patients are unable to make decisions for themselves, others have to make decisions on their behalf. However, what counts as a surrogate decision is not always clear. In this paper, we discuss the concerns surrounding surrogate decision-making, propose a novel approach for assessing its occurrence, and present our findings from this assessment.