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Advance Medical Directives in U.S. Hospitals and Nursing Homes: The Implementation and Impact of the Patient Self-Determination Act

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 May 2016

Henry R. Glick
Affiliation:
Florida State University, USA
Marie E. Cowart
Affiliation:
Florida State University, USA
J. Donald Smith
Affiliation:
Florida State University, USA
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Abstract

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court endorsed living wills and other written advance medical directives as the best way for people to indicate their desires regarding end-of-life medical treatment. Congress then enacted the Patient Self-Determination Act (PSDA), which requires most medical facilities to provide information about advance medical directives. However, results from a national survey of hospital and nursing home administrators reveal that the law is having little practical effect on patients and residents. Medical institutions need to institutionalize a more positive approach to advance directives, but other right-to-die policies are also needed.

Type
Patient Self-Determination
Copyright
Copyright © Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 

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