Partial codes—when "less" may not be "more."

Paul Rousseau

Commentary

Partial codes—when "less" may not be "more."

June 22, 2016

Rousseau P. JAMA Intern Med. 2016;176(8):1057-8.

View more articles from the same authors.

The complexity around end-of-life care increases risks of communication errors. Discussing an incident involving a patient who selected partial code strategy, this commentary explores how, after enacting this plan, the clinicians questioned whether the patient had understood the resuscitation preference he chose. The author raises ethical concerns related to advance directives when patients survive who then become dependent on life-support measures.

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