Professional Roles and Values
A good number of patients visiting emergency departments are in a position to make independent decision concerning their care. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of them are extremely incapacitated either mentally or physically to the extent that they cannot solely make decisions regarding their treatment. Some of the conditions associated with this incapacitation include organic brain disorder, hypoxia, or head trauma. Jones et al. (2005) describes an emergency department as a very hostile environment where patients may lose control of the nature of care they undergo. Such is the case scenario in this current study. Mr. E is developmentally delayed and hypoxic. Dr. K considers his situation as an emergency and a ventilator must support it. The fact that Mr. E had already signed an advance directive under the supervision of a patients advocate that he did not want a ventilator or cardiopulmonary resuscitation complicates the matter even further. Nonetheless, there is also an attorney's directive signed by Mr. Y to make medical decision on his behalf in case he is totally incapacitated.
Indiana law provides a necessary condition that physician have to get an informed consent from the patient before administering any form of care or treatment (IC 34-18-12-4). It is worth understanding that this consent not necessarily be in writing (IC 34-18-12-6). Nevertheless, if a patient presents a written consent, then the patient must sign it with at least another adult witnessing it. The adult...
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