“Please Keep Mom Alive One More Day” - Clashing Directives of a Dying Patient and Her Surrogate.

All medical care providers are legally and ethically bound to respect their patients wishes. However, as patients lose decision-making capacity and approach end of life, their families or surrogates, who are confronted with grief, fear, self-doubt, and/or uncertainty, may ask physicians to provide treatment which contradicts the patients ’ previously-stated wishes. Our work discusses the legal and ethical issues surrounding such requests, and provides guidance for clinicians to ethically and compassionately respond - without compromising their professional and moral obligations to their patients.

Source: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management - January 30, 2020 Category: Palliative Care Authors: Sheron Latcha, Camille Lineberry, Nikoletta Lendvai, Christine A. Tran, Konstantina Matsoukas, Amy E. Scharf, Louis P. Voigt Source Type: research