END OF LIFE
CONSENT
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
POWER OF ATTORNEY
DO NOT RESUSCITATE
POLST
MOLST
CONSENT
• FREE AND INFORMED (ERD 28, 27, 26, 59)
28. Each person or the person’s surrogate should have access to medical and moral information and counseling so as to be able to form his or her conscience. The free and informed health care decision of the person or the person’s surrogate is to be followed so long as it does not contradict Catholic principles.
CONSENT
• FREE AND INFORMED (ERD 28, 27, 26, 59)
27. Free and informed consent requires that the person or the person’s surrogate receive all reasonable information about the essential nature of the proposed treatment and its benefits; its risks, side-effects, consequences, and cost; and any reasonable and morally legitimate alternatives, including no treatmentat all.
CONSENT
• FREE AND INFORMED (ERD 28, 27, 26, 59)
26. The free and informed consent of the person or the person’s surrogate is requiredfor medical treatments and procedures, except in an emergency situation when consent cannot be obtained and there is no indication that the patient would refuse consent to the treatment.
CONSENT
• FREE AND INFORMED (ERD 28, 27, 26, 59)
59. The free and informed judgment made by a competent adult patient concerning the use or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures should always be respectedand normally complied with, unless it is contrary to Catholic moral teaching.
CONSENT
• PROXY (ERD 25, 24)
25. Each person may identify in advance a representative to make health care decisions as his or her surrogate in the event that the person loses the capacity to make health care decisions. Decisions by the designated surrogate should be faithful to Catholic moral principles and to the person’s intentions and values, or if the person’s intentions are unknown, to the person’s best interests. In the event that an advance directive is not executed, those who are in a position to know best the patient’s wishes—usually family members and loved ones—should participate in the treatment decisions for the person who has lost the capacity to make health care decisions.
CONSENT
• PROXY (ERD 25, 24)
24. In compliance with federal law, a Catholic health care institution will make available to patients information about their rights, under the laws of their state, to make an advance directive for their medical treatment. The institution, however, will nothonor an advance directive that is contrary to Catholic teaching. If the advance directive conflicts with Catholic teaching, an explanation should be provided as to why the directive cannot be honored.
PROXY CONSENT (LEGAL):
Process by which people with the legal right to consent to medical treatment for themselves or for a minor or a ward delegate that right to another person.
3 fundamental constraints:
1. Person making the delegation must have the right to consent.
2. Person must be legally and medically competent to delegate the right to consent.
3. Right to consent must be delegated to a legally and medically competent adult.
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
• Written instructions
• Regarding medical care preferences
• When unable to make one’s own health care decisions
• Guide for one’s family and doctors
• Can help reduce confusion or disagreement
• Generally legally binding
Advance directives include:
• Living will
• Medical or health care power of attorney (POA)
• Do not resuscitate (DNR) order
LIVING WILL
Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops (https://flaccb.org/)
CATHOLIC DECLARATION ON LIFE AND DEATH, BOTH:
• ADVANCE DIRECTIVE
• HEALTH SURROGATE DESIGNATION
https://www.flacathconf.org/declaration-on-life-and-death
POWER OF ATTORNEY (POA)
Medical or health care power of attorney (POA). The medical POA is a legal document that designates an individual — referred to as your health care agent or proxy — to make medical decisions for you in the event that you're unable to do so.
• DURABLE POA: EVEN WHEN PERSON IS MENTALLY INCAPACITATED
• RECORD IT IN THE COUNTY COURT
Do not resuscitate (DNR) order
Request to not have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops or if you stop breathing.
Advance directives do not have to include a DNR order, and you don't have to have an advance directive to have a DNR order.
Your doctor can put a DNR order in your medical chart.
PHYSICIAN ORDERS for LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENTS (POLST)
MEDICAL ORDERS for LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENTS (MOLST)
