Background: Clinicians face substantial challenges in limiting life-prolonging interventions (e.g., ICU admission, life-sustaining treatments, invasive procedures) near the end of life, even when they judge these interventions to be non-beneficial [1-3]. The objective of our study was to empirically derive a descriptive framework of decision-making approaches used by clinicians to limit (i.e., withhold or withdraw) [...]

Background: Problem Definition: Inadequate Advance Care Planning conversations and documentation remain a persistent gap in healthcare delivery. Admitting patients to the inpatient service without explicitly exploring the ‘goals of care’ and ‘code status’ results in stressful moments for the patients, their families, and providers if the condition deteriorates and may result in providing care that [...]

Case Presentation: We present 2 amalgamated, anonymized patient cases, based on 5 ethics consults requested at a single tertiary care hospital over the past 4 years. In the first case, Ms. M, an 89 year old woman with a past history of severe COPD, debilitating chronic back pain, and recent imaging findings suggestive of a [...]