A Summit on Medical Futility: Medicine, Ethics, & Law

This conference (called a "summit") at Connecticut's Hartford Hospital, next month, looks superbly constructed to move beyond mere education and onto transformative change.  It looks like a great model for other states to follow.  Indeed, several other states are already planning such workshops.  The conference is focused on "solutions" and on "the future."

• Solutions: Physicians from Yale University Medical Center, Bridgeport Hospital, as well as an attorney from the Harvard Division of Medical Ethics will present their solutions to balancing and respecting the medical judgments of physicians and the preferences of patients and/or their decision makers when life support interventions are the focus.


• The Future: Lawyers and an government representative will discuss possible approaches to reconciling physicians’ obligations to maintain their professional integrity while taking into account CT law.

The conference description states:  "Physicians are not morally obligated to provide medical interventions, e.g., life support systems like CPR or artificial ventilation, that they do not think are medically indicated, will offer no benefit, or may cause harm – BUT are they legally obligated to provide them? Who decides based on what criteria?  The purpose of this Summit is to gather persons from the disciplines of medicine, law, and ethics from around the state of Connecticut to begin the discussion needed to reconcile the problem of hospital-based medical futility and to shape a program of action."  Here is the schedule:

• 7:30 - 8:00 am Registration (no fee) &; Breakfast


• 8:00 – 8:10 am Statement of the Issue - Dr. Harold Schwartz


• 8:10 – 8:30 am Paradigm/Exemplar Case - Medical Futility Defined; AMA Recommendations - Dr. Barbara Bennett Jacobs


• 8:30 – 8:50 am Legislative Background to Removal of Life Support Systems - Chapter 368w Sec. 19a-570 through 19a-580g - The Honorable Robert Killian; Hartford Probate Court


• 8:50 -9:00 am Discussion with Panelists &; Participants


• 9:00 – 9:15 Short Break Panel Set-up/ Networking


• 9:15 – 10:15 am Panel: Solutions – Panel Moderator: Dr. Barbara Jacobs Dr. Mark D. Siegel - Yale New Haven Hospital - Dr. Harris Jacobs – Bridgeport Hospital - Attorney Carol Powers – Harvard Medical School Division of Medical - Ethics Community Ethics Committee


• 10:15-10:45 Discussion with Participants


• 10:45 – 11:45 Panel: The Future – Panel Moderator: Dr. Hank Schwartz - Attorney Zita Lazzarini (UConn Health Center) - Attorney Joan Feldman (Shipman & Goodwin) - Jonathan Harris (5th District Senator; Co-Chair Public Health Committee)


• 11:45 – 12:15 pm Discussion with Panelists &; Participants


• 12:15– 12:45 pm Summit Summary - Dr. Michael Drescher