Unfortunately, life and death decisions are made in the emergency room every day. Oftentimes there isn’t a knowledge of a patient's wants or intent.
Having an advanced directive will help you provide clearer guidance to physicians and family members when you are unable to express wishes yourself. Each and every member of your family -- from your elderly or aging parents, to your children, should have some sort of advanced directive in place.
While it can be a sensitive subject to bring up with family members, having an advanced directive will make things far easier down the road. The New York Times recently reported on the matter, which is helping to bring awareness.
Dr. Dan Morhaim, author of The Better End, joins Dr. Leigh to sort through all of the confusion where advance directive is concerned.
Advanced Directives: Provide Clear Instructions for Your Family
An advanced directive helps provide clear guidance to physicians when you are unable to express wishes yourself.
Additional Info
- Segment Number: 4
- Audio File: ER_101/1343er5d.mp3
- Featured Speaker: Dan Morhaim, MD
- Organization: American College of Emergency Physicans
- Book Title: The Better End
- Guest Bio: Dr. Dan Morhaim is a board-certified emergency medicine physician, long-time Maryland state legislator, and faculty at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Over the span of his medical career, he's worked on a wide variety of issues. His book about empowerment and values at end-of-life, The Better End, has earned excellent reviews and is endorsed by Maya Angelou, Dr. Ben Carson and many others.
- Length (mins): 10
- Waiver Received: Yes
- Host: Dr. Leigh Vinocur, MD
Published in
The Dr. Leigh Vinocur Show