69). A justification for this came from mainland China. Patients that were diagnosed with cancer, were found to either kill themselves or try to kill themselves. This lead to Chinese physicians withholding certain information to patients that they think cannot handle it. In mainland China, families of patients have even been known to bring physicians to court for disclosing information that the patient could not handle. Even though the physician is not required to tell the patient the truth, Chinese cultural tradition and law requires them to inform close family members. They view a family as more interdependent in medical decisions as opposed to the individual making the decisions alone. Signing a consent form for surgery is an example. The Chinese would view requiring a suffering patient to sign a consent form on their own as madness. Instead, they would have a family representative sign for that individual. For the Chinese patient, there is no reason in knowing if they have a fatal illness. They trust that their family will make the proper decisions and
69). A justification for this came from mainland China. Patients that were diagnosed with cancer, were found to either kill themselves or try to kill themselves. This lead to Chinese physicians withholding certain information to patients that they think cannot handle it. In mainland China, families of patients have even been known to bring physicians to court for disclosing information that the patient could not handle. Even though the physician is not required to tell the patient the truth, Chinese cultural tradition and law requires them to inform close family members. They view a family as more interdependent in medical decisions as opposed to the individual making the decisions alone. Signing a consent form for surgery is an example. The Chinese would view requiring a suffering patient to sign a consent form on their own as madness. Instead, they would have a family representative sign for that individual. For the Chinese patient, there is no reason in knowing if they have a fatal illness. They trust that their family will make the proper decisions and