Bioethics for a Better World Season 2, Episode 3: Capacity as a Threshold Ethics Question

July 1, 2026

In this episode we explore how capacity is often only the first, or threshold, question in any complex case. Dr. Harry Peled, a cardiologist and medical director of critical care shares wisdom from his experience as a physician and an ethics committee vice-chair. For additional reading: Paul S. Appelbaum, “Assessment of Patient's Competence to Consent to Treatment,” New England Journal of Medicine 357, no. 18 (November 1, 2007): 1834-40. Jonah Rubin and Kenneth M. Prager, “Guide to Considering Nonpsychiatric Medical Intervention Over Objection for the Patient Without Decision Capacity,” Mayo Clinic Proceedings 93, no. 7 (July 2018): 826-9. To follow along with the podcast, please use the subscribe button above.

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