Withholding Resuscitation: A New Approach to Prehospital End-of-Life Decisions
Authors: Stuart Farber, Jim Shaw, Jeff Mero, W. Hugh Maloney
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2006)

Letters21 November 2006Withholding Resuscitation: A New Approach to Prehospital End-of-Life DecisionsStuart Farber, MD, Jim Shaw, MD, Jeff Mero, and W. Hugh Maloney, MDStuart Farber, MDFrom University of Washington, Washington End-of-Life Consensus Coalition, Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, and Washington State Medical Association, Seattle, Washington, and Washington State Medical Association POLST Program, Spokane, Washington.Search for more papers by this author, Jim Shaw, MDFrom University of Washington, Washington End-of-Life Consensus Coalition, Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, and Washington State Medical Association, Seattle, Washington, and Washington State Medical Association POLST Program, Spokane, Washington.Search for more papers by this author, Jeff MeroFrom University of Washington, Washington End-of-Life Consensus Coalition, Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, and Washington State Medical Association, Seattle, Washington, and Washington State Medical Association POLST Program, Spokane, Washington.Search for more papers by this author, and W. Hugh Maloney, MDFrom University of Washington, Washington End-of-Life Consensus Coalition, Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, and Washington State Medical Association, Seattle, Washington, and Washington State Medical Association POLST Program, Spokane, Washington.Search for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-145-10-200611210-00015 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR: The recent article by Feder and colleagues (1) describes an observational study started in King County, Washington, in 1998 and made reference to a specific, state-approved prehospital do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order form. Since that study began, Washington has replaced this form with the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form. The accompanying editorial by Kellerman and Lynn (2) describes the value of the POLST form as an increasingly widespread standard form for seriously ill persons to document their treatment wishes as physician orders. The POLST form originated in Oregon, and research has demonstrated its effectiveness in helping patients ...References1. Feder S, Matheny RL, Loveless RS Jr, Rea TD. Withholding resuscitation: a new approach to prehospital end-of-life decisions. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:634-40. Google Scholar2. Kellermann A, Lynn J. Withholding resuscitation in prehospital care [Editorial]. Ann Intern Med. 2006;144:692-3. Google Scholar3. Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments Program. Original POLST research. Accessed at www.ohsu.edu/polst/original%20research.shtml on 12 October 2006. Google Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAuthors: Stuart Farber, MD; Jim Shaw, MD; Jeff Mero; W. Hugh Maloney, MDAffiliations: From University of Washington, Washington End-of-Life Consensus Coalition, Association of Washington Public Hospital Districts, and Washington State Medical Association, Seattle, Washington, and Washington State Medical Association POLST Program, Spokane, Washington.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoWithholding Resuscitation: A New Approach to Prehospital End-of-Life Decisions Sylvia Feder , Roger L. Matheny , Robert S. Loveless Jr , and Thomas D. Rea Withholding Resuscitation in Prehospital Care Arthur Kellermann and Joanne Lynn Metrics Cited byPrehospital noninvasive ventilation can help in management of patients with limitations of life-sustaining treatments 21 November 2006Volume 145, Issue 10Page: 788KeywordsNursing educationNursing homesObservational studiesPatientsPublic policyResuscitationRisk managementTechnicians ePublished: 21 November 2006 Issue Published: 21 November 2006 Copyright & PermissionsCopyright © 2006 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF downloadLoading ...