The Role of Clinical Ethics Committee and "Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) in End of Life Medical Treatment

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Decision making as the end of life nears is of crucial importance for both patients and professionals. In the USA, ethical-legal frameworks have been created to facilitate patient choices. The "Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment" is documents intended to assist patients in EOL decision making. The strong desire for "autonomy" has led citizens, first in Oregon and most recently (November, 2008) in Washington State to pass legislation entitled the "Death with Dignity Act." This author interviewed health care professionals at the University of Washington to gain an understanding of this context.