Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T21:33:46.506Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Imperative Character of Medical Technology and the Meaning of “Anticipated Decision Regret”

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2009

Tjeerd Tymstra
Tjeerd Tymstra
Affiliation:
Groningen, The Netherlands
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Medical-technical possibilities are often experienced as being strongly compelling. This imperative character of medical technology not only applies to the medical profession, but also to patients who frequently find it very difficult to refuse medical examinations or treatments. This article discusses the technological imperative with regard to patients. It attempts to discover relationships with decision theory, particularly concerning “anticipated decision regret:” The fact that prevention of regret plays an important role in the use of medical technology is illustrated through a number of examples: liver transplantation, prenatal diagnosis, screening, and in vitro fertilization.

Type
General Essay
Information
International Journal of Technology Assessment in Health Care , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , April 1989 , pp. 207 - 213
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCE

Allais, M.Le comportement de l'homme rationnel devant le risque: Critique des postulats et axiomes de l'école Américaine. Econometrica, 1953, 21, 503–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bell, D. E.Regret in decision making under uncertainty. Operations Research, 1982, 30, 961–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crandall, B. F., Lebherz, T. B., & Tabsh, K.Maternal age and amniocentesis: Should this be lowered to 30 years? Prenatal Diagnosis, 1986, 6, 237–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heuvel, W. J. A.van, den. Screening tests. In Sturmans, F., Persoon, J., Morshuis, J., Windhausen, R. (eds.), Explorations in social medicine. Nijmegen: Dekker & van de Vegt, 1981.Google Scholar
Heyink, J. W., & Tymstra, Tj, Slooff, M. J. K., Jibs, C. H. Liver transplantation: The rejected patients. Transplantation. In press.Google Scholar
Keppels, M., Velde, A. S.van, der, Tymstra, Tj, & Mantingh, A.Chorionic villi biopsy or amniocentesis: An investigation into the decision behaviour and experience of expectant mothers. Medisch Contact, 1987, 42, 462–64.Google Scholar
Loomes, G., & Sugden, R.Regret theory: An alternative theory of rational choice under uncertainty. The Economic Journal, 1982, 92, 805–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Office of Technology Assessment. Development of medical technology: opportunities for assessment. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1976.Google Scholar
Tymstra, Tj.False positive results in screening tests: Experiences of parents of children screened for congenital hypothyroidism. Family Practice, 1986, 3, 92–96.Google Scholar
Tymstra, Tj., & Huisjes, H. J.Communication problems on informing pregnant women about alpha-foetoprotein determination in serum. Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde, 1983, 127, 541–45.Google Scholar
Tymstra, Tj., & Bieleman, B.The psychosocial impact of mass screening for cardiovascular risk factors. Family Practice, 1987, 4, 287–290.Google Scholar
Tymstra, Tj., Bücking, J., Roorda, J., Heuvel, W. J. A.van, den, & Gips, C. H.The psychosocial impact of a liver transplant programme. Liver, 1986, 6, 302–09.Google Scholar
Tymstra, Tj., Sterenberg, G., & Aarnoudse, J. G.The experience of those undergoing ultrasound investigation for the identification of congenital abnormalities in the foetus. Medisch Contact, 1987, 42, 464–66.Google Scholar
Zoeten, M. J.de, Tymstra Tj., & Alberda, A. Th.Waiting for IVF: Motivations and expectations of women who entered an IVF programme. Human Reproduction, 1987, 2, 7, 623–26.CrossRefGoogle Scholar