Helping the Care Team Help the Patient

Patti, a 52-year old woman with history of asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hepatitis C and substance abuse, presented to the emergency department after cardiac arrest at home with subsequent return of spontaneous circulation. When Patti’s husband didn’t respond to attempts to contact him, with no advance directive, it was deemed more helpful to support the care team’s communication efforts and to provide an ethics perspective with procedural recommendations and “what if” options.

• What treatment options are reasonable under these circumstances?
• How and who should make those decisions, especially when there is disagreement among potential decision-makers?

Apply Theory (Specific Professional Healthcare Competencies + Clinical Medical Ethical Principles) to Practice in order to provide Optimal Patient-Centered Care (OPCC)