Private Term : Written Case - Advance Health Directive

In the older patient that has planned for end-stage diagnosis, an advance directive provides a means to articulate patient requests. However, in the patient who has sustained

This paper concerns the ethical basis for advance directives, or “Living Wills”; the value of these advance directives to the patients, their families; and the authorities that these advance directives give the above mentioned interested parties.

When you are able, you should put thought into the physical process you will go through. All of us love you and want to make sure that when the time comes, we know and can follow your wishes regarding the care you wish to receive. Having your decisions thoroughly and clearly stated in an advance directive will make this possible. (Berger, 2014, p. 590). Your advance directive document may contain a living will, a signed consent for Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), and information identifying your healthcare proxy. Understanding these things now, will help you make clear choices. A living will clarifies what care, or lack of care, you wish to have (Berger, 2014, p. 590). This is helpful for reference if you are ever unconscious or in any way incapable

The use of a form of Advance directives dates back as far as 1914, in where case law established the requirement to obtain a patients’ consent for invasive medical procedures, based on the right of self-determination (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). It was not until the late 1960’s that Advance directives began to be developed in the United States. Patient and consumer rights movements sought legal measures through state and federal actions to alleviate the use of aggressive and ineffective life-sustaining treatment with the living will, the known as the earliest form of an advance directive (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008). In 1976, the Natural Death Act in California, “was the first law to give

Tennessee law on advanced directives is a document that tells your family, friends, and doctors on how you want to be treated in an emergency. Advance directive can be a document or a living will in which you state the plan of care when you are no longer able to communicate treatment choices or decision. Advance directives is not only for the elderly but it can be at any age even if you are not sick at the time of the document. This document list the details of treatment that you want implemented if a serious incident was to happen. It would tell what interventions should be used in your care. Some of the choices would include a full status code where the patient wants CPR or a do not resistant code can be used for treatment. The client can also have the option of limited interventions with each code status. It would include artificial ventilation or artificial feeding and any type of tubes associated with your treatment. The client can also be specific if he or she wants just medical treatment only including the use of drug therapy. In this paper, we will look at Tennessee law and various

An advanced directive is a legal document in which a person can specify what measures should be taken, when considering their medical condition, in the event that they are incapable of making decisions for themselves.  Advanced directives are more often used by patients who have mental and terminal illnesses.  When given a scenario in which a dementia patient like David signed an advanced directive, there are many things to be considered before deciding whether or not to treat his pneumonia:  what is best for his health, what is considered ethical for the physician to do, and what effects would the physician’s decision have on the hospital. David should be treated for his pneumonia because, when considering the medical aspect of this case, it

A patient barrier might include having limited knowledge surrounding life-support systems and treatment options, thereby hindering their ability to fully comprehend or demand certain interventions. Good counseling is therefore essential to overcoming this barrier in implementing the patient’s true and best wishes (Kroning, 2014, p. 222). Another barrier in implementing advance directives concerns the role and influence of family members and the patient. There may be discordance between the desires of the patient and family, which can result in serious debate and tension if not addressed and taken into consideration. Physicians still may have reservations, as certain demands made by the patient may raise ethical concerns in the future, if the provider feels the interventions being done are no longer medically appropriate.

“It is estimated that 75 percent of Americans have never taken the time to discuss their wishes or provided any written guidance to loved ones or health care providers in the event the patient is unable to speak for themselves” (Kottkamp, 2013). This is why patients should decide on having an advanced directive. Advanced directives exits to “encourage and empower patients to be ready for the unexpected, to provide the gift of guidance to their loved ones, and, ultimately, to be sure that patients get the care they want and need if they are ever unable to speak for themselves” (Kottkamp, 2013). Advanced directives are recognized in all 50

Healthcare providers rely on advanced directives as a means to communicate to patients once they determine that they have lost their decision making ability. As a result, the advanced care directives are expected to preserve the patient’s autonomy. They do this by allowing a patient’s values and wishes to guide treatment even when they have lost their decision making capability. At the time, it allows the patient to express their preferences to the health care providers with regards to treatment, without verbalizing it. In the end, the patient’s freedom to choose a certain course of treatment in still preserved even though the patient is

There have been numerous cases in the media regarding people who have fallen ill and did not have an advance directive in place. In cases such as these the decision falls on the patients family members. At times family members do not agree and courts need to get involved to decide what medical treatment is appropriate.

This film explains the legal role of advance directives in end of life issues. An advance directive is “a written document directing how medical decisions are to be made in the future when the patient lacks decisional capacity and is unable to decide and choose” (Hanlon, End of Life Issues, Slide 28, Bullet 1). All three of the cases demonstrate the importance in filling out some form of directive. When there is nothing to go off of, it makes decisions extremely tough for families and medical providers. Having legal documentation of patient wishes helps understand what treatments they would or would not consent to. In cases like

With an increasing aging population and growing numbers of individuals with chronic conditions, it is important for individuals to prepare for end-of-life care. An Advance Directive is a defined as a “legal document that provides data to critical care staff about patients’ wishes, especially when critical illness decreases decision-making ability” (McAdam, Stotts, Padilla, and Puntillo, 2005). An Advance Directive also allows for better communication between the patient and doctor, and preserves the autonomy of patients. It may also alleviate one’s family from any possible burden of uncertainty of one’s wishes. It provides guidance, which may avert arguments with family members concerning treatment choices (Cedars Sinai, 2015). The Patient

A person’s life can end at any age. They can depart quickly or slowly. End of life care, also known as palliative care, is the care of patients that are not only in their final hours or days but the patients with a terminal illness that has become incurable. End of life care takes into mind what the patient desires so it is recommended that they consider an advanced care plan also known as an advance directive and living will. These documents allow the patient to formulate decisions on the future of their care if, at any point, they cannot vocally express themselves.

Today, 80-85% of Americans die in medical institutions. Of those, 70% require decisions about whether to apply, withhold, or withdraw medical treatment (Makar 58). Due to this ever increasing number, the right to die is one of the most popular and controversial topics in medicine today. The issue comes down to personal beliefs and ethics and the fact that there is so little clear-cut legislation on this topic confuses it even more. Advance Directives provide, in theory, for self-determination and put the patients mind at ease with the knowledge that they have decided for themselves the extent of health care that they wish to receive. Also, for the family, the process of watching their

Advance Directives are our wishes when we are at end of life stages of life that give specific direction of how, who, and when to treat us in our final days and hours. We can have documents drawn up to say what we want in the event we are in a state where we cannot voice our wishes aloud. These documents have legal and ethical basis, and they should be followed unless the legally or ethically unable to do so.