Navigation Links
Resolving conflicts over end-of-life care: Mayo experts offer tips
Date:11/27/2012

ROCHESTER, Minn. -- It's one of the toughest questions patients and their loved ones can discuss with physicians: When is further medical treatment futile? The conversation can become even more difficult if patients or their families disagree with health care providers' recommendations on end-of-life care. Early, clear communication between patients and their care teams, choosing objective surrogates to represent patients and involving third parties such as ethics committees can help avoid or resolve conflicts, Mayo Clinic experts Christopher Burkle, M.D., J.D., and Jeffre Benson, M.D., write in the November issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings.

"Health care professionals in the United States have struggled with the importance of maintaining patient autonomy while attempting to practice under the guidance of treatments based on beneficial care," Dr. Burkle, the study's lead author, says.

Tips from Drs. Burkle and Benson to effectively discuss end-of-life care include:

  • Clear communication: Early and clear communication between health care providers and patients or their surrogates is the best way to avoid disagreement over whether medical care should continue. Recent studies show that more than 95 percent of such disputes are resolved through mediated meetings involving physicians and patients/surrogates.

  • Choose objective surrogates if patients cannot represent themselves: The surrogate's role is to stand in the shoes of the patient and suppress his or her own judgment in favor of what the patient would have done. However, it is important to acknowledge that medical surrogates often struggle to balance their wishes for the patient with the patient's own wishes. Studies have found that not only do many surrogates fail to accurately predict a patient's treatment wishes, but when asked to resolve disputes, they are more likely to show bias by overestimating the patient's desire for continued treatment.

  • I
    '/>"/>

Contact: Alaine Westra
newsbureau@mayo.edu
507-284-5005
Mayo Clinic
Source:Eurekalert

Page: 1 2

Related medicine news :

1. Physicians fail to disclose conflicts of interest on social media
2. Study recommends ways to evaluate end-of-life care in nursing homes
3. Listening in, researchers learn about end-of-life communication
4. What Makes the End-of-Life Experience Peaceful?
5. Parents Religious Beliefs Can Complicate Kids End-of-Life Care
6. Later End-of-Life Discussions May Mean More Aggressive Treatment
7. Original research papers on acute cardiovascular care: ESC launches EHJ-ACVC
8. Energy Infusion Meets Skin Care: Introducing Dahryn Silver Gel™
9. Minorities Less Likely to Use Hospice Care: Study
10. Home Elder Care: Buyer, Beware
11. Cost Keeps Many Americans From Good Dental Care: Report
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:6/19/2013)... June 19, 2013 Alternatives, a revolutionary ... patients to quit using drugs while allowing them to ... the founders of Alternatives, believe that abstinence-only approaches force ... enter treatment and that this approach hurts instead of ... in the United States need treatment for addiction but ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... 19, 2013 Many trying-to-conceive couples ... medically necessary, according to a recent study ... Journal. The results of this research confirm what ... a decade – that trying-to-conceive women would benefit ... healthy body weight. Fairhaven Health is a leading ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... published today in Menopause International , suggests ... sex, and less satisfying sex compared to their ... considerably less likely to access appropriate treatment for ... The first-of-its-kind study, called the CLarifying vaginal atrophy,s ... that British post-menopausal women with vaginal atrophy are ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... June 19, 2013 Ultimate Medical Academy ... an 11.5-hour broadcast on WFLA News Channel 8. Since ... more than $84 million for All Children's Hospital in ... themed "30 Years of Miracles," marked the second year ... UMA employees worked the phones during the Telethon, which ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... (PRWEB) June 19, 2013 Recently, SoCal CEO ... Riverside County held their third in a series of six ... Wall of Respect and helped place the mosaic tiles in their ... and her parents, Cathy and Greg Maxwell. , This mural ... an idea that took root over three years ago with the ...
Breaking Medicine News(10 mins):Health News:Top L.A. Addiction Experts Assert That an Abstinence-Only Approach to Addiction Keeps 85% of Addicts From Seeking Treatment 2Health News:Top L.A. Addiction Experts Assert That an Abstinence-Only Approach to Addiction Keeps 85% of Addicts From Seeking Treatment 3Health News:Fairhaven Health's Dr. Amos Grunebaum Says Fertility Awareness Leads to Babies 2Health News:Fairhaven Health's Dr. Amos Grunebaum Says Fertility Awareness Leads to Babies 3Health News:Fairhaven Health's Dr. Amos Grunebaum Says Fertility Awareness Leads to Babies 4Health News:British women 50 percent less likley to recieve treatment for common menopausal symptoms 2Health News:Ultimate Medical Academy Rallies in Support of All Children's Hospital 2Health News:Ultimate Medical Academy Rallies in Support of All Children's Hospital 3Health News:Arc Creates Huge Mosaic Mural to Highlight the Need for Greater Respect of People with Disabilities 2
... state Health Directorate officials have confirmed that there has ... fever in about 29// villages of Nasik district. Around ... have been hospitalized. ,Malegon was the worst ... were sent to the National Institute of Virology (NIV), ...
... physician from Philadelphia has come out with a ... from arthritis. The technique when used will ease ... ,Interventional radiologist Kevin Baskin of Children's Hospital ... ankle joint of juvenile arthritis patients at the ...
... Pakistan's 155 million population carries the deadly hepatitis virus, ... ,"Hepatitis B and C is a time bomb ... to control it," said the president of the Pakistan ... 2006 report. ,The association represents medical practitioners ...
... in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association sleeping ... may increase risks of high blood pressure. // Columbia ... of Physicians and Surgeons conducted the study. ... at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health reported ...
... covering the provinces of Luanda, Bengo, Benguela, and Kwanza Norte. ... 13, the number of reported cases has risen to 2,026 ... Sunday WHO representative, Angola Fatoumata Diallo handed over 7 ... of Health Jose Van- Dunem. ,The National Laboratory ...
... showed that ROZEREM? (ramelteon) could be used for treating people ... reduce the time to fall asleep in adults significantly. // ... showed no signs of recurring or withdrawal effects. ... 8 mg of ROZEREM experienced at least a 50 percent ...
Cached Medicine News:Health News:ROZEREM? Can Be A Better Option For Insomnia Patients 2Health News:ROZEREM? Can Be A Better Option For Insomnia Patients 3Health News:ROZEREM? Can Be A Better Option For Insomnia Patients 4
(Date:6/19/2013)... 2013   Voices Against Brain Cancer (VABC), ... brain cancer, today announced that it has awarded Tocagen ... clinical investigation of Toca 511 & Toca FC in ... cancer (Grade 3 or Grade 4).  Tocagen is a ... cancer, with an initial focus on brain cancer. ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... Amerivet Solutions, LLC ( AMERIVET ), ... government from Federal to Municipal, is pleased to ... include complex metal design and fabrication manufacturing. "We ... aluminum parts for the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) ... service government contracts," states Richard Bergen , ...
(Date:6/19/2013)... , June 19, 2013  This year alone, The ... 300 research projects with one goal in mind: Discovering ... "Team In Training" (TNT), a flagship LLS fundraising campaign ... program, is marking its landmark 25 th anniversary. ... $875 million in research to discover and deliver breakthrough ...
Breaking Medicine Technology:Voices Against Brain Cancer Awards Grant to Tocagen to Support Investigation of Toca 511 & Toca FC in Patients with Recurrent Brain Cancer 2Voices Against Brain Cancer Awards Grant to Tocagen to Support Investigation of Toca 511 & Toca FC in Patients with Recurrent Brain Cancer 3Amerivet Solutions Expands to Manufacture Complex Metal Designs 2Celebrating 25 Years and Counting: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Team In Training" Goes the Distance and Beyond for Blood Cancer Patients 2Celebrating 25 Years and Counting: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Team In Training" Goes the Distance and Beyond for Blood Cancer Patients 3Celebrating 25 Years and Counting: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Team In Training" Goes the Distance and Beyond for Blood Cancer Patients 4Celebrating 25 Years and Counting: Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's "Team In Training" Goes the Distance and Beyond for Blood Cancer Patients 5
... Inc.,("CeloNova"), leading and accelerating healthcare solutions through ... breakthrough,results from the ATLANTA study of the ... the 20th Annual International Symposium on,Endovascular Therapy ... Corrado Tamburino, MD, President of the ...
... Ortho Women,s Health,& Urology(TM), Division of ... for ORTHO EVRA(R),(norelgestromin/ethinyl estradiol transdermal system) to ... includes two new additional estimates of relative,risk ... of 1.1,(indicating no increase in risk) and ...
Cached Medicine Technology:CeloNova BioSciences Introduces a New Class of Coronary Stent: The CATANIA(TM) Coronary Stent System with NanoThin Polyzene(R)-F 2ORTHO EVRA(R) Prescribing Information Updated 2ORTHO EVRA(R) Prescribing Information Updated 3
Remote Blower Without Bag-In/Bag-Out Option...
... Ideal for biocompatibility testing at various ... of air through a clean heating ... temperature up to 140F. Transparent panels ... shields allow easy access to the ...
This free-standing work station safely ventilates fumes upwards, away from the work surface. Optional Exhaust Purification System features bonded charcoal filters that remove organic chemical vapors ...
... This fume hood is the ... but includes a flat internal ... the shell. The baffle slopes ... air flow to sweep the ...
Medicine Products: