Health management and patients who lack capacity: forms of guardianship in European health policy.

The focus of healthcare debate has in recent years shifted from doctors and healthcare professionals in general to patients and the principle of patient self-determination. Patient competence therefore plays an increasingly central role in the legal framework of many Europeans countries. Consequently, healthcare policy has to address the possible repercussions of a non-systematic approach to cases of patient incapacity. The diverse nature of the experiences of the mentally or physically disadvantaged clearly raises problems for the healthcare professional. In this setting, we examine Italy's Law no. 6/2004 from a comparative perspective, in particular analysing legislation in the same area from Spain, France, Great Britain and the Netherlands.