Abstract Originating mostly in the world of oncology, palliative care has matured into a wide-ranging field aimed at improving the quality of life of all patients and their families facing…
Abstract “Unbefriended,” or “unrepresented,” patients are those who are unable to make their own decisions with regard to their medical care and lack an available surrogate decision maker. As we…
Abstract Advance directives (ADs) are legal documents that provide information on a patient’s preferences for care when seriously ill. ADs include two separate documents: a health-care power of attorney and/or…
Abstract Ms. Patterson is a 68-year-old woman with a history of hypertension who was at home when she developed a sudden-onset severe headache with vomiting. She called 911 but was…
Abstract The moral ends of medicine established thousands of years ago through the work of historical figures like Imhotep and Hippocrates taught us what it means to be a healer…
Abstract Mrs. Williams is an 82-year-old woman with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), hypertension, and diastolic heart failure who is admitted to the medical intensive care unit (ICU) with…
Abstract An 81-year-old woman with a history of non-alcoholic cirrhosis, refractory ascites, and previous variceal bleeding was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) with septic shock from spontaneous bacterial…
Abstract Shared decision-making involves using the best scientific evidence available to make a choice together with the patient or their surrogate, while weighing the options against the patient’s values, preferences,…
Abstract Excellent communication is a foundation of shared decision making. As discussed throughout this book, shared decision-making is a collaborative process of (1) exchanging medical and personal information about patients’…
Abstract Mr. Smith is a 68-year-old man with chronic obstructive lung disease on supplemental oxygen who presented to the emergency department with influenza A and a Staphylococcus aureus superinfection. The…
