Il diritto all'autodeterminazione e le decisioni di fine vita in Italia: il ruolo dell'amministratore di sostegno

The patient's right to express a conscious and informed consent to medical treatment can be expressed, not only in positive aspect, in the form of consent to therapeutic intervention, but also in its negative aspect, in the form of a refusal of the proposed therapy. The problem focuses on admissibility and the value to be attributed to any directives regarding treatment the person may have previously expressed fearing a future loss of capacity. In fact, the possibility to express personal determinations before the onset of disease and the occurrence of an emergency situation collides with the need that the will of the patient follows and is the result of the information provided by the doctor at the time treatment is required. In this context, the paper test the usefulness of appropriate technical and legal institutions, such as a fiduciary, in adapting the patient's advanced directives to the actual pathological situation. In fact, based on current Italian legislation and in the absense of specific legislation, according to the most recent doctrine and jurisprudence, the instrument of "administration of support" is able to concretise the patient's whishes in the context of the relationship of care.