Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia

An Advance Medical Directive (AMD) is a document in which competent patients express their wishes regarding their preferred choice of future medical plans in the event they become incompetent. AMD is important in relation to the patient’s right to refuse treatment. However, they must also consider c...

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Published in:Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
Main Author: Malek M.M.; Saifuddeen S.M.; Abdul Rahman N.N.; Yusof A.N.M.; Abdul Majid W.R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia 2021
Online Access:https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85106199788&doi=10.21315%2fmjms2021.28.2.3&partnerID=40&md5=cac18832d1c245947c17b3f2d3caeea7
id 2-s2.0-85106199788
spelling 2-s2.0-85106199788
Malek M.M.; Saifuddeen S.M.; Abdul Rahman N.N.; Yusof A.N.M.; Abdul Majid W.R.
Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
2021
Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
28
2
10.21315/mjms2021.28.2.3
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85106199788&doi=10.21315%2fmjms2021.28.2.3&partnerID=40&md5=cac18832d1c245947c17b3f2d3caeea7
An Advance Medical Directive (AMD) is a document in which competent patients express their wishes regarding their preferred choice of future medical plans in the event they become incompetent. AMD is important in relation to the patient’s right to refuse treatment. However, they must also consider cultural and religious values of different communities. In Islam, there are several concerns that need to be addressed, namely the validity of the AMD according to Islamic jurisprudence and patients’ right to end-of-life decision-making. To address these concerns, this article refers to multiple sources of Islamic jurisprudence, such as the Quran, the tradition of Prophet Muhammad and the works of Islamic scholars related to this topic. Based on the findings, Islam does not forbid the use of AMD as a method to honour patients’ wishes in their end-of-life care. Islamic jurisprudence emphasises on the importance of seeking patients’ consent before carrying out any medical procedures. However, several conditions need to be given due attention, such as: i) a patient’s cognitive capacity during the process of drawing up an AMD; ii) the professional views of medical experts; iii) the involvement of family members in end-of-life care and iv) the limitations of a patient’s decision-making in creating an AMD. © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2021.
Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia
1394195X
English
Article
All Open Access; Gold Open Access
author Malek M.M.; Saifuddeen S.M.; Abdul Rahman N.N.; Yusof A.N.M.; Abdul Majid W.R.
spellingShingle Malek M.M.; Saifuddeen S.M.; Abdul Rahman N.N.; Yusof A.N.M.; Abdul Majid W.R.
Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
author_facet Malek M.M.; Saifuddeen S.M.; Abdul Rahman N.N.; Yusof A.N.M.; Abdul Majid W.R.
author_sort Malek M.M.; Saifuddeen S.M.; Abdul Rahman N.N.; Yusof A.N.M.; Abdul Majid W.R.
title Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
title_short Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
title_full Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
title_fullStr Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
title_full_unstemmed Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
title_sort Honouring wishes of patients: An islamic view on the implementation of the advance medical directive in Malaysia
publishDate 2021
container_title Malaysian Journal of Medical Sciences
container_volume 28
container_issue 2
doi_str_mv 10.21315/mjms2021.28.2.3
url https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85106199788&doi=10.21315%2fmjms2021.28.2.3&partnerID=40&md5=cac18832d1c245947c17b3f2d3caeea7
description An Advance Medical Directive (AMD) is a document in which competent patients express their wishes regarding their preferred choice of future medical plans in the event they become incompetent. AMD is important in relation to the patient’s right to refuse treatment. However, they must also consider cultural and religious values of different communities. In Islam, there are several concerns that need to be addressed, namely the validity of the AMD according to Islamic jurisprudence and patients’ right to end-of-life decision-making. To address these concerns, this article refers to multiple sources of Islamic jurisprudence, such as the Quran, the tradition of Prophet Muhammad and the works of Islamic scholars related to this topic. Based on the findings, Islam does not forbid the use of AMD as a method to honour patients’ wishes in their end-of-life care. Islamic jurisprudence emphasises on the importance of seeking patients’ consent before carrying out any medical procedures. However, several conditions need to be given due attention, such as: i) a patient’s cognitive capacity during the process of drawing up an AMD; ii) the professional views of medical experts; iii) the involvement of family members in end-of-life care and iv) the limitations of a patient’s decision-making in creating an AMD. © Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia, 2021.
publisher Penerbit Universiti Sains Malaysia
issn 1394195X
language English
format Article
accesstype All Open Access; Gold Open Access
record_format scopus
collection Scopus
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