Advance care planning is the process. Advance directives usually are the written documents that provide information about the patient’s wishes and/or her designated spokesperson. Verbal
In some cases, the treatment may be “futile” ; that is, it may no longer fulfill any of the goals of medicine. In general, these
You can raise advance care planning as one of many health promotion activities. These discussions are aimed at avoiding harms (over- and undertreatment), and promoting
The medical ethos is not a linear tradition that has been simply handed down from generation to generation. Medical practitioners have reinterpreted this ethos for
Though in most cases of withholding or withdrawing treatment the patient has a serious illness with limited life expectancy, the patient does not have to
Physical pain is only one of many conditions that lead patients to make the decision to die. Physical suffering and quality of life involve several
Patients with active mental illness including depression should have their decision making capacity evaluated carefully. They should not be presumed to be unable to make
Many clinicians feel that it is easier to not start (withhold) a treatment, such as mechanical ventilation, than to stop (withdraw) it. While there is
In the ideal doctor-patient situation the primary care physician should initiate discussion when the patient is not acutely ill. However, this often is not the
When having a discussion about advance care planning, the following questions are recommended: Who should speak on your behalf if you become so sick you
