Question

Scenario: You are a hospital administrator who has been told by your ICU unit director of a patient in the unit who has suffered serious brain damage from a car accident 2 days ago and is currently intubated. The patient is 45 years old but does not currently meet the criteria for complete brain death as defined by Arizona state legislature "4-1107. Determination of Death and Status; Rules." The spouse of the patient has consulted with the attending physician.

The attending physician informed the spouse that the patient could survive but would likely require life support. Half of the family is insisting that the patient "wouldn't want to live this way" and the other half is accusing the other family members of wanting to "kill" the patient.

Some allegations have been raised about a substantial inheritance for some family members upon the patient's death.

The battle is becoming intense, and it is beginning to disrupt the medical and nursing staff. Describe the medical care issues involved in this situation. Explain which laws and regulations apply to this situation. How would you interpret these laws and regulations when making a decision? Describe the ethical issues that may arise based on your decision as the administrator. Explain how you can ensure appropriate implementation of supporting policies and procedures in order to ensure ethical integrity. What policies and procedures would you consider when making your decision? How would you ensure these procedures were followed correctly? What resources could you use to support your decision?

Answer 1

#. The medical care issues in such situation is that the healthcare professionals are not able to decide about what type of intervention.should be taken for the patient shall it be to save him or kill him because of the conlfict of interest among family members .

#. Determination of Death Act (UDDA)

An individual who has received either irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem is dead.

In this case the patient has chances of survival if he is put on life support so he should be pro ided with medical management according to the ethics .

#. Ethical issue will arise if medical intervention is not provided to the patient because he has the chances of survival .