If there is a disagreement about either the interpretation or the authority of a patient’s living will, the medical team should meet with the family

Sometimes the patient is awake, alert, and conversant, but their decisions seem questionable or irrational. First, it is important to distinguish an irrational decision from

As mentioned above, a decision to withhold CPR may also arise from a patient’s expressed wish that CPR not be performed on him or her.

As mentioned above, a decision to withhold CPR may also arise from a patient’s expressed wish that CPR not be performed on her. If the

As long as a patient remains competent to participate in medical decisions, both documents are revocable. Informed decisions by competent patients always supersede any written

Surveys of individual physicians show that half believe that PAS is ethically justifiable in certain cases. However, professional organizations such as the American Medical Association

Surveys of patients and members of the general public find that the vast majority think that PAS is ethically justifiable in certain cases, most often

Living wills cannot cover all conceivable end-of-life decisions. There is too much variability in clinical decision making to make an all-encompassing living will possible. Persons

The goals of advance care planning are four-fold. In the event of decisional incapacity, they are to: maximize the likelihood that medical care serves the

The goal of medicine is to help the sick. Physicians have no obligation to offer treatments that do not benefit their patients. Futile interventions are