Laurel J. Lyckholm, MD and Arwa K. Aburizik, MD, MS
Decision-making capacity can be preserved in patients with mental illness and should be formally assessed in the context of their values and past decisions.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(5):444-453. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.5.ecas4-1705.
Acknowledging the roles and views of the caregiver may be the first step to resolving disagreements between caregivers and clinicians over artificial nutrition at the end of life.
AMA J Ethics. 2017; 19(7):656-662. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2017.19.7.ecas3-1707.
Meera Balasubramaniam, MD, MPH and Yesne Alici, MD
A 15-year-old advance directive made when the patient was in much better health and not updated can bring more confusion than clarity to the decision-making process.