End-of-Life Healthcare Sessions at ASBH 2017
Conclusion: Patients with LEP had significant differences and disparities in
end-of-life decision-making. Interventions to facilitate informed
decision-making for those with LEP is a crucial component of care for this
group.
THU 1:30 pm: “But She’ll Die if You Don’t!”: Understanding and
Communicating Risks at the End of Life (Janet Malek)
Clinicians sometimes decline to offer interventions even if their refusal will
result in an earlier death for their patients. For example, a nephrologist may
decide against initiating hemodialysis despite a patient’s rising creatinine
levels if death is expected within weeks even with dialysis. Although
clinicians can describe their reasons for not offering an intervention (often
related to overall prognosis, suffering, and mental status) toward the end of
life, their reasoning has not been explored in detail or described in a nuanced
way. Anecdotal experience as well as published scholarship suggests that
clinicians decline treatment if “the risks outweigh the benefits.” This facile
explanation does not adequately address concerns of a family member who wants
to give their loved one every possible chance, arguing, “But she’ll die if you
don’t! What do we have to lose?”
In an attempt to bridge this impasse often encountered by clinical ethics
consultants and critical care physicians, we conducted interviews with
physicians (intensivists, oncologists, surgeons, and...
Source: blog.bioethics.net - Category: Medical Ethics Authors: Thaddeus Mason Pope, JD, PhD Tags: Health Care syndicated Source Type: blogs
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