HTHS305- Legal Aspects of Healthcare Management Week 5 Assessment – Short Essay #3 Deadline Due by the end of Week 5 at 11:59 pm, ET. Outcomes Completing this Assessment will help you to meet the following outcomes: Course Outcomes • Explain the health care provider’s role in end of life decisions, and the role of patient rights in end of life decisions. Institutional Outcomes • Information Literacy and Communication – Utilize appropriate current technology and resources to locate and evaluate information needed to accomplish a goal, and then communicate findings in visual, written and/or oral formats. • Relational Learning – Transfer knowledge, skills and behaviors acquired through formal and informal learning and life experiences to new situations. • Thinking Abilities – Employ strategies for reflection on lear Directions Review the following scenario: Dr. H was just concluding her evening rounds when she was paged regarding Mr. M, one of her patients in the ICU. When she arrived in Mr. M’s room, she found his son Ron in the room, very distressed over his father’s condition, which had sharply deteriorated over the last 24 hours. Mr. M. had been diagnosed with Stage IV lung cancer a few months prior and had a Living Will on file that expressed, among other wishes, his desire to refuse mechanical ventilation. Now unresponsive, his breathing was shallow and irregular; typically noted in the end stages of lung cancer. “I know Dad has a Durable Power of Attorney,” exclaimed Ron, “And I am designated as his attorney-in-fact. We signed it years ago. I don’t know anything about his Living Will, but I can’t stand to see him struggle to breathe. I am his next-of-kin, and I want him put on a ventilator!” The only document currently in Mr. M’s chart is his Living Will. Write a 500-word essay that examines the following. Follow APA guidelines and have a minimum of two scholarly resources as a reference. No more than ten percent (10%) of your essay should be directly quoted material. • Explain the difference between a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. As there is no Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare on file for Mr. M, recommend how Dr. H. should proceed with Mr. M’s care. • If Ron is able to produce a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, would it supercede Mr. M’s Living Will? Why or why not? • What recommendations would you suggest to prevent this emotionally-charged situation?
