Is Your Living Will Compromising Your Safety?
If you have a living will, you probably had
it prepared so your wishes could be carried out if you became incapable of
making your own medical decisions. But, did you realize there is a risk of your
living will being misinterpreted?
Patients who are not terminally ill die in
hospitals every year because of medical staff misinterpretations of living
wills. These are patients who would
have otherwise lived if treated. But, too often, patients with living wills are
treated as DNR--a code status understood by physicians and staff to mean "do
not resuscitate." However, in many cases their status should have been
"Full Code," which tells those in authority to use aggressive efforts
to save patients' lives. Unfortunately, living wills do not contain patient
code status designations and therein lies the problem.
As an emergency room physician, Ferdinando
L. Mirarchi, D.O. understands how these misinterpretations happen. In Understanding Your Living Will, Dr. Mirarchi explains how to include
lifesaving patient code status information in your living will and in the living
wills of your loved ones. Among the questions he answers:
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How can you be
sure your living will makes your wishes clear?
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What are the
hidden dangers in living wills?
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How can you
avoid the misinterpretation of a DNR code status?
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When does a
living will become active?
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Why is it
important to have a health care power of attorney?
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What is a
health care proxy?
A Book to Help You Ensure Your Living Will
Follows Your Wishes
