MEDICAL DECISION MAKING

 Nearly everyone who receives any kind of health care will need to manage that care and make decisions about what kind of care should occur, and whether, for example, a person will be resuscitated if his or her heart stops.  

Discerning what care and what treatment should be done and not done can be stressful. It's even more stressful because of the significant risk of inadequate or incorrect care occurring.  

This article provides you with the necessary tools to advocate for yourself or an ill or hospitalized loved one and navigate choices on resuscitation status and treatment decisions. Please refer to our Resources during Serious Illness and Caregiving for more info.

Always anchor medical decisions within a solid moral framework. Decisions should recognize inherent worth of every person, regardless or his or her functional capacity, health status, or degree of illness or disability. Honor yourself and others as human beings, rather than human doings. 

Many options exist for patients to decide what kind of medical care they do and don't want to receive. From the simplest DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders to POLST forms, to Advance Directives, everyone should discuss their preferred care choices with family members medical providers. 

Your physician will ask you if you have a POLST form completed.  Here is detailed info on how to fill out the form, when it should or should not be completed, and explanations about what each section means.