Benefits and Detriments of Advanced Directive for Patients

This essay explores the benefits and detriments of advanced directive for patients, including self-determination, protection for doctors, and conflict resolution. It also discusses limitations such as overlooking recent feelings and specific instructions. The conclusion highlights the importance of advance directives in healthcare decision-making.

Running head: ADVANCED DIRECTIVE
ADVANCED DIRECTIVE
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1Advanced directive
Introduction- An advance directive is a legal deed prepared for future health
complications in which an individual states what should be done in the case if he/she loses
the decision making ability (Austin, 2015). This essay will focus on the benefits and
detriments of the advanced directive for the patient.
Merits- Advanced directive is used globally in case of loss of decision making ability.
CER 1- Advanced directive is a self-determination prepared by an individual to
control their future medical treatment.
“They allow the patient to control medical treatment decision making when she no
longer has the ability to state her wishes directly”.
In a case where the patient loses his decision making skill, any person selected by the
advanced directive will determine what should be done.
CER 2- Advance directive provides protection to the doctors from legal obstacle.
“Thus, advance directives can make health care providers more comfortable about
complying with requests to forgo life-sustaining treatments”.
Doctors hesitate to withdraw life sustaining treatments to avoid legal problems, but
with an advanced directive, they become free from such reluctance, and are able to progress
on the pre-decided treatment (Phelps, 2017).
CER 3- Advanced directive helps in escaping future conflicts.
“Advance directives can also be useful when conflicts arise among family member or
between family members and health care providers”.

2Advanced directive
During the treatment of the patient, use of life sustaining treatments give rise to
skirmishes not only among the family member but with general practitioner also. An advance
directive helps in suppressing those encounters in advance.
Thus it can be concluded that, an advanced directive provide comfort to the patients
as well as to their family and general practitioner to decide on his behalf.
Demerits- Implication of advanced directive sometimes gives rise to certain limitation
also.
CER 1- Advanced directive overlooks person’s recent feeling.
“But can anyone accurately predict how she will feel in such circumstances?”
Advanced directive are self-declaration provided by individual itself to withdraw life-
sustaining treatments in future if required, but this sometimes overlooks patients feeling at the
treatment which may differ from that mentioned in the provision (Kisorio & Langley, 2016).
CER 2- Specific instructions mentioned in the advanced directives can be a hurdle
sometimes.
“Another problem concerns how to write instructions included in advanced
directives”.
Precise instructions such as the patient do not want to go through dialysis in future are
sometimes mentioned in the provision which can be a hurdle during the treatment of the
patient which requires dialysis (Honoringchoices.org. 2018).
CER 3- Forgoing life-sustaining treatment can be traumatic.
“However, it may be emotionally difficult for this family member to make a decision
to “let go” of a loved one by forgoing life sustaining treatment”.

3Advanced directive
If patient suffers from any life threatening disease then life sustaining treatments
should be withdrawn, but it is painful for the family member to let go their loved ones.
To conclude, there are some restriction in the provision which should be considered at
the time of making it.
Conclusion- Thus, advance directive helps the patient in getting the better health care
plan and avoid life sustaining treatments even after they loses the decision making ability.
However there are certain restrictions in the method.

4Advanced directive
References
Austin, C. A., Mohottige, D., Sudore, R. L., Smith, A. K., & Hanson, L. C. (2015). Tools to
promote shared decision making in serious illness: a systematic review. JAMA
internal medicine, 175(7), 1213-1221.
Honoringchoices.org. (2018).Advance Care Planning Information: Dialysis. Retrieved from
https://www.honoringchoices.org/health-care-directives/32-info-dialysis/file
Kisorio, L. C., & Langley, G. C. (2016). End-of-life care in intensive care unit: Family
experiences. Intensive and Critical Care Nursing, 35, 57-65.
Phelps, K., Regen, E., Oliver, D., McDermott, C., & Faull, C. (2017). Withdrawal of
ventilation at the patient's request in MND: a retrospective exploration of the ethical
and legal issues that have arisen for doctors in the UK. BMJ supportive & palliative
care, 7(2), 189-196.