What have I learned, this week, after two sessions on brain death at the Society of Critical Care Medicine Conference in Orlando? Here are just a few things.
1. Some hospitals are seeing contestation rates of 40%. Out of every ten cases involving determination of death by neurological criteria, four are contested.
2. Some contested cases take months to resolve.
3. Even when laws or guidelines clearly state that clinicians do not need consent, they rarely proceed to conduct tests if family objects.
4. Sometimes, clinicians abstain from testing to respect the family and preserve a therapeutic alliance. But other times, it is the hospital's lawyers or administration directing clinicians to abstain.
No comments:
Post a Comment