Because most critically ill patients lack decision-making capacity, physicians often ask family
members to act as surrogates for the patient in discussions about the goals of care …

Death with dementia is increasingly common. Although prognostication is difficult, it is an
incurable life-limiting illness for which palliative care for the patient is often appropriate …

The traditional objective of advance care planning has been to have patients make
treatment decisions in advance so that clinicians can attempt to provide care consistent with …

Many patients who develop incapacitating illness have not expressed clear treatment
preferences. Therefore, surrogate decision makers are asked to make judgments about what …

Background: Little is known about what role physicians take in the decision-making process
about life support in intensive care units. Objective: To determine how responsibility is …

Background Although experts advocate that physicians should express empathy to support
family members faced with difficult end-of-life decisions for incapacitated patients, it is …

The Right to Die, Third Edition analyzes the statutory and case law surrounding the profound
issues of end-of-life decisionmaking. Whether the situation calls for long-term planning or …

Context Critical illness of a family member is associated with high emotional and spiritual
distress and difficult medical decisions. Objectives To determine if a semistructured spiritual …

Adults who are incapacitated and alone, having no surrogates, may be known as
“unbefriended.” Decision-making for these particularly vulnerable patients is a common and …

BACKGROUND End‐of‐life discussions are associated with decreased use of life‐
sustaining treatments in patients dying of cancer in the outpatient setting, but little is known …