Turn emergency docs into end-of-life experts

by Jeremy Tucker My first introduction to medical futility was as an intern in Chicago in the late 90s. I was working on a medical floor when a code blue was called overhead. I responded to find the nursing staff attending to an elderly male. As I started CPR and called out orders, I inquired as to what his medical conditions were and started looking at this shell of a man. The nurse reported, "He is a 99-year-old male with diabetes and cardiovascular disease." I realized the man was blind, had above knee amputations to both legs and also had bilateral arm amputations. He was a full code. I am not sure if that was because there was no family to make him DNR (do not resuscitate) or he had chosen to "have everything done." Futile medical care is the continued provision of care when there is no reasonable hope for recovery or cure of the patient. It is surprisingly quite common. There are many reasons for this. The Pew Research Center just released its newest study that looks at current attitudes toward end-of-life care and provides comparisons to show changing attitudes from previous studies. It is clear that culture plays a role, as Hispanics are less likely than whites to choose to say they would halt medical treatment when facing these situations. There are some differences by religion and age noted in the study, as well as a growing percentage of the population that feels "doctors should do everything possible to save the life of a patient in all circumstances."...
Source: hospital impact - Category: Health Managers Authors: Source Type: blogs