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Life Support vs. Dignity
A decision is complicated not just by the people affected by it, but also by the people making the decision. For health care professionals, decision making is usually complex because of their role in providing care to patients and their families. One of the most difficult decisions for these professionals is scenarios involving life support or death. In these situations, health care providers work with the patient and his/her family to decide whether to sustain a patient's life or ending it. When facing such decisions, the providers should identify risks, evaluate risks, assess interventions, and determine suitable measures to mitigate risks. Some of the important aspects to consider during this process include informed consent, vicarious liability, strict liability, and res ipsa loquitur.
Case Scenario
A family is notified by the physician that their grandfather has respiratory failure, hepatic failure, cardiac failure, and has no blood pressure. The physician has also notified the family that the grandfather is septic and that his current condition has been like this for a week and appears to be worsening. He has no likelihood of survival. The doctor requests that the family make a decision about sustaining the grandfather's life or ending it.
Analysis of the Scenario
Life support is a mechanism that is used to sustain a patient's life after the failure of at least one vital organ or system. On the contrary, physicians are sometimes faced with a duty to hasten a patient's death, especially when the patient has no chance of survival following the failure of at least one organ. However, doctors need to ensure that a patient dies with dignity when it's the most appropriate decision for the patient's condition. The decision on whether to subject a patient to life support or death is usually complex for doctors and the patient's family members because of its impact on their lives.
The above scenario is...
According to Miller (2011), the medical community must handle the process and event of life support or death carefully because it's the single most important experience in a person's life (p.81). When making the decision on whether to sustain or end the grandfather's life, the physician and family members need to consider all risks, evaluate them, and determine suitable measures to mitigate the risks.
Risks in the Scenario
The patient in this scenario has been diagnosed with four major conditions i.e. heart failure, cardiac failure, respiratory failure, and no blood pressure. Given these conditions, the physician has determined that the patient has no likelihood of survival. Consequently, there are two probable decisions that the physician and the patient's family can make i.e. sustaining the patient's life through life support or ending it in a dignified manner. However, there are several risks involved in each of these decisions because of complexities associated with the processes.
In relation to life support, some of the major risks involved in this scenario include the likelihood of further medical complications. Secondly, life support may generate risks of slow and frustrating recovery because it's a difficult and emotionally draining experience. The other risks associated with such a decision include huge financial costs of the techniques, emotional consequences and suffering, physical dangers, and societal discord.
On the contrary, the decision to end the patient's life is also accompanied by several risks, which heightens the complexity of the scenario. One of the potential risks in this scenario is the probable disagreement by some family members. Secondly, when making such a decision, physicians face the risk of carrying out the process in an inhumane way or…
References
Miller, P.J. (2011). Death with Dignity and the Right to Die: Sometimes Doctors Have a Duty to Hasten Death. Journal of Medical Ethics, 13, 81-85.
Song, M., Ward, S.E. & Lin, F. (2012). End-of-Life Decision-Making Confidence in Surrogates of African-American Dialysis Patients Is Overly Optimistic. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 15(4), 412-417.
Vitals. (2013, May 21). Pulling the Plug: ICU 'Culture' Key to Life or Death Decision. NBC News. Retrieved May 31, 2016, from http://vitals.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/05/21/18382297-pulling-the-plug-icu-culture-key-to-life-or-death-decision-lite
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