mellowyellow
Well-known Member
Doctors leave a man to die, honoring his DNR tattoo-Florida in 2017
A recent New England Journal of Medicine article presented a case in which a “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR) tattoo (see Figure 1) created an ethical dilemma for the emergency and critical care physicians caring for the patient, who were guided by a questionable recommendation from their ethics consultants.1 The unknown patient presented to the emergency department unconscious and in critical condition. “Do Not Resuscitate” was tattooed across his anterior chest wall, accompanied by his presumed signature.
Without the guidance of next of kin or advanced directive paperwork, the health care team initially decided not to honor the DNR tattoo. However, they later reversed their decision and honored the tattoo after an ethics consultation. The ethics consultants concluded that the tattoo could be presumed to represent the patient’s authentic preferences and that the “law is sometimes not nimble enough to support patient-centered care and respect for patients’ best interest.” The conclusion of the ethics consultants should not set a precedent for future similar cases, as the DNR tattoo was neither legally nor ethically sufficient to guide medical care.
https://www.acepnow.com/article/do-not-resuscitate-tattoos-are-they-valid/