Legal Perceptions and Medical Decision Making

Medicine and law are more closely intertwined than ever before, particularly regarding issues of life-sustaining treatment for the elderly. The legal system’s potential as a positive force in medical decision making has been limited by pervasive misperceptions by physicians of its processes and role. Identifying these myths and misperceptions is a first step toward a more effective partnership of medicine and law on behalf of the dying or demented patient.

Author(s): Marshall B. Kapp; Bernard Lo

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Volume 64, Issue S2 (pages 163–202)
Published in 1986