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They are not the same thing! https://familydoctor.org/advance-directives-and-do-not-resuscitate-orders/ https://familydoctor.org/advance-directives-and-do-not-
by jessriedel 7y ago
They are not the same thing!
https://familydoctor.org/advance-directives-and-do-not-resuscitate-orders/ https://familydoctor.org/advance-directives-and-do-not-resus...
An advanced directive is a legal document indicating a person's preferences and transferring legal authority. A DNR is an order to medical personnel for emergency situations. Only the DNR is effectively binding on medical personnel in such situations because they can't be expected to know of all legal documents.
Advanced directives can include DNRs, and will often do so for patients who have a bad prognosis. But healthy people do not normally include DNRs in their advanced directive!
- lotsofpulp 7y agoOh, I see. I assumed that an advanced directive is a more comprehensive DNR, since even if you’re healthy, you can still suddenly become unable to communicate, at which point you can’t make a DNR, so it doesn’t make any sense to wait until you’re unhealthy to make a DNR.
- jessriedel 7y agoYou can have instructions in your advanced directive about the conditions under which you want DNRs created on your behalf. (Even in the absence of advanced directives, a family members of a patient who cannot make decisions for themselves is often awarded medical power of attorney, in which case that family member can order a DNR for the patient. Needless to say, this is not ideal because the family member is often unsure exactly what the patient would want if they were of sound mind, and tend to err on the side of providing intensive care even with a bleak prognosis.)