As a Risk Manager I can tell you that we would have to honor the next of kin's wishes. In the abscence of a directive the decision falls on the treating MD.
We would weight our liability this way:
If we withhold "standard of care" and the patient or family sues us we are liable for malpractice (big money).
If we give "standard of care" and later get sued for battery it is a civil case, but less $$ on the long run.
We off course had to look at all the factors and exhaust all avenues. Ask if there is an advance directive on file or ask other family members if one can be found. We would also involve our ethics department.

I hope this helps.

Lesson to be learned: Always carry an advance directive. In your car. Give one to your friend, elder. In short words keep a copy of a copy. It is your best protection and avoids the horrible scenario above.

Thank you. Because I travel a lot, my directive might not be current right away. One time I had serious bleeding after a hysterectomy. Instead of sending the doctor on call, my doctor left the restaurant and showed up with his wife, stopped the bleeding and stayed at the hospital until he was sure I was stable. I say this because I realized that the majority of health care professionals really care and to be put in a position as those described in these post is not only professionally stressful, but also personal stress the job doesn't necessarily stop with the time clock. I can only imagine what goes on in your head when you have to deal with these situations. I promise , that if I have to have a directive for every state that I go to, I wil and it will be up to date and completed correctly!!

Once again: THANKS FOR THE LESSON!!

I totally agree that the medical directive needs to be filled in its entirety. So many individuals are eager to sue and a medical directive prevents this. I personally would believe the family members if they were to say the patient is a JW. Overall, it is better to be on the safe side.

__________________
Sybille
“Think highly of yourself
because the world takes you
at your own estimate.”