Investigation of factors that limit the autonomy of SUS patients during the decision process of their mouth integrity

Abstract

The principle of autonomy foresees that patients can accept or refuse any proposal of treatment for its health problems, since they enjoy its intellectual capacity and the informed consent is contemplated. According to the principle of Justice, every patient has access to public health services and this is an important statement for they exert their full autonomy. The dental clinics of the Single Health System that offers dental extraction has great patient demand and frequently they insistently desire to submit themselves to a tooth extraction when there is no biological indication of this procedure. This work aimed to evaluate through a qualitative methodology, the process of informed consent that these patients were submitted and still analyzed, by this way, if they were enjoying their autonomy with the fullness that is foreseen by Bioethics when they make such decision. It was observed that the principle of autonomy is deeply compromised by a previous compromising of the principle of justice. The patients did not have option for treatment choice because there is no other alternative supply than extraction, and thus they decided for a more radical option considering, not that this was most correct, but the one that was available. In such a way, the necessity of reformatting the spirit of respect to the patient on its fullness was evidenced at SUS net of attendance, according the basic assumptions of the Principle-Based Ethics.