Nursefriendly.com: Advanced Directives

Showing posts with label Advanced Directives. Show all posts

Thursday, March 24, 2011

This American Death: The Movie

How has the pursuit of a good or natural death been altered by advances in medical technology which now can almost always extend life, if only for a few minutes, hours or days? Who does not question their Do Not Resuscitate order with death staring them in the face? How can doctors be expected to manage death when they receive so little end-of-life training? And where can a person go to die in peace, if they have no family and do not want to endure hospital procedures?

This American Death explores the complicated world of death and dying in contemporary America, examining the cultural and systemic issues which conspire against Americans experiencing a so-called good death. Despite the consensus that exists among Americans about how they wish to die - surrounded by loved ones, pain free and relatively unaided by technology - why do so many still die in hospitals, in pain, supported by machines? The film looks at why, when a good death is seemingly achievable, few actually experience one?

via thisamericandeath.com

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Sunday, February 20, 2011

The care was futile, and the patient's wishes, KevinMD.com

by Jim deMaine, MD
“We have a patient on a ventilator here who is stable enough to transfer to your ICU, if that’s OK with you.”
This call, coming from the transfer coordinator, is emblematic of an insurance generated “medical care” coverage issue. I am salaried under the patient’s insurance carrier so the insurer wants this patient back under its wing as soon as possible.
The community hospital has been keeping Stella Norris (not her real name), an 89 year old woman, as long as possible. She is incapacitated from a massive stroke suffered five years ago. There is a feeding tube inserted through the stomach wall and she has needed total body care. 911 was called when she stopped breathing and she was taken to the closest hospital.

via kevinmd.com

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Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Don't Put Off Talking About The Inevitable: Care At Life's End : Shots - Health News Blog : NPR

With no end in sight to the controversy about whether doctors should be paid to discuss end-of-life options with patients, we thought now was as good a time as any to review the possibilities for care before you die.

Only about a quarter of adults have advance directives in place. The term refers to two types of documents: a living will that instructs people what medical measures to take, if any, to prolong your life, and a health care power of attorney that designates someone to make medical decisions for you if you can't. States call these documents by different names, but their functions are similar.

On the relatively infrequent occasions when people do sign advance directive documents, they're usually thinking about what they would want in a crisis: a heart attack, say, or routine surgery that goes terribly wrong. Most of us don't think about the long, slow decline that may occur with Alzheimer’s disease, for example, that robs people just as surely of their ability to make choices as a medical emergency.

via npr.org

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Sunday, December 19, 2010

Death in a hospital is not always comfortable, KevinMD.com

In America, too many people die in the hospital.
I don’t mean that they die due to medical error or incompetence, though that’s always a hot topic of discussion amongst doctors, researchers, administrators, and regulators.
What I mean is that if you ask most people, they say they’d rather die at home, surrounded by their loved ones, drifting off to sleep painlessly after having had last rites administered (feel free to plug in your religious/atheistic ritual of choice here).
Why, then, do so many who want this type of death instead die medically, here in the hospital, undergoing painful treatment and the deprivations and degradations of medical care?
The answer has both simple and complex aspects. But I’ll start by sharing something that most medical professionals believe:
When my time comes, the last place I want to be is in the hospital. Don’t get me wrong–I like GlassHospital–it’s a good place to work, teach, and learn. But when the grim reaper is calling my name, I want to be as far away from here as I can.
No IVs. No needle sticks to test my blood. No waking me up to check vital signs every shift. No hospital food. No fluorescent lights.
No feeding tubes; no bladder catheters (ouch!); for Heaven’s sake, no breathing machines (‘mechanical ventilators’).

via kevinmd.com

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Thursday, March 24, 2011

This American Death: The Movie

Sunday, February 20, 2011

The care was futile, and the patient's wishes, KevinMD.com

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Don't Put Off Talking About The Inevitable: Care At Life's End : Shots - Health News Blog : NPR

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Death in a hospital is not always comfortable, KevinMD.com

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