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>When doctors ask if they want “everything” done, they answer yes. Then the nightmare begins. > But doctors still don’t over-treat themselves. This is an inter

>When doctors ask if they want “everything” done, they answer yes. Then the nightmare begins. > But doctors still don’t over-treat themselves. This is an interesting article. The main point is that nobody, in general, is prepared to be in a almost-dead situation, and when this event comes, the patient nor family is prepared to answer "ok, I prefer more life quality than trying all possible treatments". Because the implicit answer is that when you give up all alternatives, you are saying "I prefer to live few months and die". Not that choosing all treatments might be different. But it's a possibility, it's a try, and it's not "giving up". Doctors, on the other hand, deal and see all the side effects of the treatment. They know what will cost (in quality, not only money). And if the end will come anyway...

robbiep 10y ago
As a doctor, when I am running through an Advanced Care Directive (ACD, what a DNR order is called in NSW Public hospitals) (I do it with all patients older than 70 that present to the emergency room), if they say they want 'everything', I say, yes, we will do everything that is in your best interests. But let's think about this case. If your condition was to deteriorate and your heart was to stop, would you like CPR? This would break all your ribs and also require a breathing machine. What about if you were to stop breathing and require a machine to breathe for you? Would you like to be attached to a ventilator? What about if you could not feed yourself? Would you want a feeding tube inserted? Often by making people confront the actuality of what resuscitation means, you can change their ACD to something that is both medically appropriate for their condition and satisfactory for them, as they may have never thought about it in the terms you are describing it

robbiep 10y ago

As a doctor, when I am running through an Advanced Care Directive (ACD, what a DNR order is called in NSW Public hospitals) (I do it with all patients older than 70 that present to the emergency room), if they say they want 'everything', I say, yes, we will do everything that is in your best interests. But let's think about this case. If your condition was to deteriorate and your heart was to stop, would you like CPR? This would break all your ribs and also require a breathing machine. What about if you were to stop breathing and require a machine to breathe for you? Would you like to be attached to a ventilator? What about if you could not feed yourself? Would you want a feeding tube inserted? Often by making people confront the actuality of what resuscitation means, you can change their ACD to something that is both medically appropriate for their condition and satisfactory for them, as they may have never thought about it in the terms you are describing it