The study, done by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation of six medical centers throughout the United States, found that 49 percent of patients requesting Do Not Resuscitate Orders were not complied with. Of those whose wishes were complied with, patients waited 22 to 73 days before the orders were issued. For example, recently a Texas court held that the patient's conditions for terminating life support were too specific. The lesson being drawn from such cases is that written advance directives should not contain specific health care wishes. The findings do not mean that persons who have executed living wills and health care powers will always have their wishes ignored, elder law practitioners stress.
Physicians typically have almost no training in pain control.
Many of them are not aware of the existence of the specialty and, if they are, often do not know where to reach an expert in the field. Ms. Kaplan, who has served on three institutional ethics committees, observes that the medical profession acknowledges its problem in honoring patient wishes. No one wants to be the one to lean over, put their hands on the wire, and pull. Elder Law FAX is published weekly by Timothy L. Takacs, Attorney at Law. 201 Walton Ferry Road, Hendersonville, Tennessee 37077-0364.