For some reason, there was no such order in the chart. Did the doctor have a choice?
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{ 5 comments }
If, as the article describes, the patient was in hospice, it should have been a no brainer. Don’t hospices require a DNR order prior to acceptance in their program?
B. Perky
I’m not the most up to date on it, but I thought you merely needed two doctors to say you were going to live less than 6 months to be in hospice. Now, many people may have a DNR in this situation, but that that does not mean that everyone does. If I am wrong, please correct me!
DNR or not, if EMS is called then their standing orders are to institute resuscitation. There is no time for them to reasonably interpret legal documents or interview family members when seconds count.
Resuscitate them all, sort it out later.
Hospice…. that should have been the first clue.
I rarely make negative statements, but as a physician and a hospice volunteer, I’ll help you all out….
ALL HOSPICE PATIENTS ARE DNR. The doctor is a blithering IDIOT
No, not all hospices require that the patient be a DNR to receive hospice care. Even with a DNR script present, pts and caregivers have been known to panic and change their minds or even forget where the paperwork is placed. EMS is trained for rescue, not end of life care. If they are called then the pt and family need to understand that the pt is going to have resuscitative treatment.
Beth
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