WHAT WOULD YOU DO? ETHICS IN EMERGENCY MEDICINE Bernard Heilicser, DO, MS, FACEP, FACOEP-D

Bernard Heilicser, DO, MS, FACEP, FACOEP-D

What Would You Do?

Ethics in Emergency Medicine

In this issue of The Pulse, we present the case of a patient who may or may not be a Jehovah’s Witness and needs blood.

Our patient is a 69-year-old female being admitted for septic shock. She has a history of osteomyelitis, hypertension and dementia. Her hemoglobin had fallen from 7.0 to 6.3. She has two daughters, one being a Jehovah’s Witness, while the other is not. The patient lacks decisionmaking capacity.

As expected, one daughter (A) is a Jehovah’s Witness and would not consent for blood. However, she did not have documentation as to her mother being a Jehovah’s Witness. The other daughter (B) is not a Jehovah’s Witness and wants everything done to keep her mother alive. Daughter A claims to be the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, but has no documentation for this.

Who has standing in medical decisions? Is there an ethical/legal basis for your decision?

What would you do?

WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?

Please visit the ACOEP DocMatter community forum and share your thoughts on this case.

If you have any cases that you would like to present or be reviewed in The Pulse, please email them to us at mcomerford@acoep.org.

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