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Orders not to resuscitate and the psychiatric hospital

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Abstract

In 1983, the President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine recommended that all health care institutions be required to develop appropriate policies and procedures for withholding life-sustaining treatment from terminally ill patients. While such policies have been extensively debated, there has been little discussion of the problem in the psychiatric literature. Yet state mental hospitals handle many terminally ill patients, often without having clarified their medical responsibilities. This article focuses on Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) policies in psychiatric settings. It offers illustrative case examples and reviews the important principles and legal decisions that pertain to DNR policies. In hospitals that have no clearly defined medical standards, patients often receive inferior care. The need to develop DNR policies presents an opportunity to discover more thoughtful approaches to medical care in psychiatric hospitals.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Washington Heights Community Service, New York State Psychiatric Institute, 722 West 168th Street, 10032, New York, NY

    Francine Cournos M.D. (Director)

Authors
  1. Francine Cournos M.D.
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The author acknowledges the assistance of James Bakalar, J.D., Paul Litwak, J.D., and Jamie Benfield, J.D.

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Cournos, F. Orders not to resuscitate and the psychiatric hospital. Psych Quart 58, 24–31 (1986). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01064036

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01064036

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