Legal and ethical Issues

• July 8, 2020
• Tony Guo
• no comments

Legal and ethical Issues

• Patients and families struggle with many decisions during the terminal illness and dying experience
• Organ and tissue donations
  • Any body part or the entire body may be donated
    • Decided by a person before death
    • With family permission after death
• Advance Care Planning and Advance Directives
  • Advance care planning is a process that involves having patients think through, talk about, and document their values and goals for treatment
  • Advance directives are the written documents of those wishes and the designated spokesperson
• Resuscitation
  • A common health care practice
    • Patients and families have the right to decide whether CPR will be used
    • Physician’s orders should specify
      • Full Code
      • Chemical Code
      • No Code – DNR or AND
• Mechanical ventilation
• Tube feeding placement
• Be informed
  • Know patient’s wishes
  • Be aware of legal issues
  • Understand documentation requirements
  • Put directives in the medical record
    • Place notices in the nursing care plan and on the patient’s record
• Euthanasia
  • Deliberate act of hastening death
  • The ANA statement on active euthanasia states that the nurse should not participate in active euthanasia
  • Not the same as palliative sedation
    • Use of medications to intentionally produce sedation
      • Relief of intractable symptoms and distress with imminent death
      • Intent is to relieve pain and suffering