The Hastings Center Guidelines for Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment and Care Near the End of Life

"This second edition of the classic Guidelines for Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment and Care Near the End of Life is a gem. The coverage of issues related to the care of children is a welcome addition, and now makes the document a truly comprehensive textbook for ethical, legal, institutional, and psychosocial aspects of end-of-life care. The format is particularly attractive, allowing the reader to absorb concise "bullet points" on each topic with easy access to more detailed discussion in the text. This excellent organizational format, plus the searchable ebook, makes these Guidelines a uniquely practical resource for all who care for patients near the end-of-life." -- Robert Truog, Professor of Medical Ethics, Anesthesiology, & Pediatrics and Director of Clinical Ethics, Harvard Medical School; Executive Director, Institute for Professionalism & Ethical Practice Senior Associate in Critical Care Medicine, Children's Hospital Boston "The book is so much more than just guidelines. It is the sourcebook for how the ethics of life-sustaining treatment and care at the end of life should be taught, institutionalized and translated into clinical teaching and practice. Medical students and residents will learn how to think about and approach the care of patients who are dying or who refuse life -sustaining therapies. Healthcare institutions will match their procedures and processes in ethical consultations to the goals and competencies outlined in these guidelines. Healthcare leaders and policy makers will advocate for the full integration of these guidelines into healthcare policy and procedures. By taking a comprehensive view of what healthcare professionals and policy makers need to know to set the standards for "the ethical treatment decision-making and delivery of safe, effective and compassionate care near the end of life, " the three authors, all with extensive experience in ethics and legal policy, have created an extremely relevant, readable and practical book that will guide clinicians' challenging work in navigating the difficulties of shared decision-making for those with life limiting illnesses and the dying."- Kathleen M. Foley, The Society of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Chair "I am delighted to see the broader scope and fuller discussion in the new edition, with the same spirit of courage and caution that has made this work important over the years. Developing organizational ethics as important and manageable is an especially important contribution in the new edition." -- Joanne Lynn, Director, Altarum Institute for Elder Care and Advanced Illness "An invaluable resource. The revised guidelines offer key stakeholders a robust road map for providing ethically grounded end of life care across the lifespan. The expanded version highlights important contemporary ethical issues at the end of life: Pediatrics, transitions of goals, communication, conflict resolution, professional integrity and costs and suggests evidence based solutions to some of the most vexing ethical questions faced by individuals , organizations and society." -- Cynda Hylton Rushton, Anne and George Bunting Professor of Clinical Ethics, Professor of Nursing and Pediatrics And Program Director, Harriet Lane Compassionate Care, Johns Hopkins University Berman Institute of Bioethics "Like its 1987 ground-breaking predecessor, this new set of Hastings Center Guidelines will be a major and influential reference work for health care organizations, professionals, ethics committee members, and administrators as they aim to standardize and improve clinical practices, educational efforts, and policies and procedures related to end-of-life decision-making. The Guidelines are a superb summary, under one cover, of consensus points related to end-of-life care. Sections and subsections of the Guidelines can be read as "stand-alone," and therefore the work can be used as a kind of reference book according to immediate questions and needs. The writing style is very accessible for health care professionals and administrators, and avoids overly clinical jargon for an educated lay readership." -- Martin Smith, Director of Clinical Ethics, Department of Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic "While the first edition focused on articulating, arguably for the first time, the rights of patients and the corresponding responsibility of caregivers, the second edition works to contextualize these rights and duties in the lived experience of patients, families, and the healthcare team. This edition takes the original framework and builds upon it by addressing end-of-life issues not only in regard to a patient's condition, but also in light of their lived experience. In addition to expanding on and updating the guidelines for making ethical decisions in the end-of -life context, the second edition provides a framework for guidance on pediatric decision-making that was not addressed in the first edition. The new material on pediatrics includes important clarifications and distinctions between adult, adolescent, and infant end-of-life care." --Amanda Hine, MA(Saint Louis University), Doody's "Intended primarily for nurses, physicians, and chaplains as well as other professionals working with families facing end-of-life decisions, the book is filled with both ethical insight and practical wisdom. It will help practitioners think about what questions to ask and what processes to employ when doing clinical work." -A.W. Klink, Duke University, CHOICE