Skip to main content
Journal cover image

Deciding to terminate treatment: a practical guide for physicians.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Snyder, JW; Swartz, MS
Published in: J Crit Care
September 1993

Providing house officers and practicing physicians with annotated, concise, practical guidelines for decisions to terminate treatment is the objective of this report. The study selection and data extraction focused on statutes, regulations, court decisions, medicolegal analyses, clinical studies, and position papers addressing termination-of-treatment issues. To foster a systematic approach, we developed a laminated, pocket-sized card containing a series of questions to be asked by any physician confronted with termination-of-treatment decisions. Systematic identification and deliberate assessment of (1) brain death; (2) the nature, extent, cause, prognosis, and reversibility of impairment; (3) the type of treatment to be withheld or withdrawn; (4) the futility of any proposed intervention; (5) the capacity of the patient for health care decision-making; (6) the evidence of patient's wishes; (7) the proper roles of family members, surrogate decision makers, and other health professionals (eg, ethics committees); and (8) applicable policies, ethics, laws, and potential conflicts of interest will enhance efficiency and add value to the decision-making process at the end of life.

Duke Scholars

Published In

J Crit Care

DOI

ISSN

0883-9441

Publication Date

September 1993

Volume

8

Issue

3

Start / End Page

177 / 185

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Withholding Treatment
  • Tissue and Organ Procurement
  • Prognosis
  • Organizational Policy
  • Mental Competency
  • Life Support Care
  • Lawyers
  • Humans
  • Family
  • Ethics Committees, Clinical
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Snyder, J. W., & Swartz, M. S. (1993). Deciding to terminate treatment: a practical guide for physicians. J Crit Care, 8(3), 177–185. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-9441(93)90024-f
Snyder, J. W., and M. S. Swartz. “Deciding to terminate treatment: a practical guide for physicians.J Crit Care 8, no. 3 (September 1993): 177–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/0883-9441(93)90024-f.
Snyder JW, Swartz MS. Deciding to terminate treatment: a practical guide for physicians. J Crit Care. 1993 Sep;8(3):177–85.
Snyder, J. W., and M. S. Swartz. “Deciding to terminate treatment: a practical guide for physicians.J Crit Care, vol. 8, no. 3, Sept. 1993, pp. 177–85. Pubmed, doi:10.1016/0883-9441(93)90024-f.
Snyder JW, Swartz MS. Deciding to terminate treatment: a practical guide for physicians. J Crit Care. 1993 Sep;8(3):177–185.
Journal cover image

Published In

J Crit Care

DOI

ISSN

0883-9441

Publication Date

September 1993

Volume

8

Issue

3

Start / End Page

177 / 185

Location

United States

Related Subject Headings

  • Withholding Treatment
  • Tissue and Organ Procurement
  • Prognosis
  • Organizational Policy
  • Mental Competency
  • Life Support Care
  • Lawyers
  • Humans
  • Family
  • Ethics Committees, Clinical