No abstract

POLST orders regarding CPR in nursing home residents in this study were universally respected. Study subjects received remarkably high levels of comfort care and low rates of transfer for aggressive life-extending treatments.

Findings add compelling evidence for the power of advance directives, whether written or verbal, to reduce the stress associated with family decision-making.

No abstract

Oregon physicians have a more favorable attitude toward legalized physician-assisted suicide, are more willing to participate, and are currently participating in greater numbers than other surveyed groups of physicians in the United States. A sizable minority of physicians in Oregon objects to legalization and participation on moral grounds. Regardless of their attitudes, physicians had a number of reservations about the practical applications of the act.