ABSTRACT
Family members, and other non-professionals, can have a significant impact on how well treatment for chronic illness works. However, they do not always do their part well and sometimes act in ways that set back the patient’s treatment. The first part of this chapter extends the analysis of chapter six to cover these cases, again drawing on the capabilities approach. If family members, or others, are to assist with treatment, they need to know something about it. That information is typically either confidential or private. Nevertheless it is routinely shared with some (but not all) those involved in caring for a patient, particularly other healthcare professionals and the parents of young children. The second part of this chapter argues that these practices cannot be defended by using the notion of implicit consent and do not rely on considerations of respect for autonomy. Instead they depend on a combination of three factors: confidentiality, foreseeable harm, and permissive interests.
