Nonstandard Advance Directives in Emergency Medicine: What Should We Do?

Critically ill or injured emergency department or prehospital patients who lack decision-making capacity sometimes present with a non-standard advance directive, such as a “Do Not Resuscitate” tattoo or medallion. Emergency clinicians must immediately address the question of whether to withhold treatment based on what may or may not be a valid patient directive.
Source: The Journal of Emergency Medicine - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Ethics in Emergency Medicine Source Type: research