Experts have developed guidelines aimed at avoiding conflicts between physicians caring for patients with advanced illness, and the families of those patients. “Neither individual clinicians nor families should be given unchecked authority to determine what treatments will be given to a patient,” explained Douglas White, M.D., M.A.S., UPMC Chair for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine,… Continue reading New Guidelines for Making Critical-Care Decisions
Tag: critical care
Patient Directives May Change in Intensive Care Unit
Although more and more people have set clear limits on how much life-sustaining therapy they want, intensive-care units across the U.S. vary widely in how they manage the care of those patients. The pre-existing limits include authorizing do-not-resuscitate orders, and prohibiting treatments such as feeding tubes or dialysis. The research, from investigators at the Perelman… Continue reading Patient Directives May Change in Intensive Care Unit