Annual Meeting Preview: Final Priorities: Ethics and Quality of Life

As Critical Care Anesthesiologists, we are responsible for diagnosing organ dysfunction, treating various pathologies, coordinating care with consultants and nurses, and communication with patients and their families. We support patients and families through the phases of illness and recovery, and, at times, we shepherd them through palliation and changes in goals of care. Ethical considerations in critical care is not always simple or straight forward. In this session at the SOCCA 2019 Annual Meeting and Critical Care Update, we will review aspects of the ethics of caring for critically ill patients including palliative care, ethics committees, and cost at the end of life in a 60-minute moderated panel discussion entitled "Final Priorities: Ethics and Quality of Life".

In this panel:

Allison Dalton, MD 

Moderator
The University of Chicago Medicine
Chicago, Illinois

 

 

 

Nicholas Sadovnikoff, MD

Brigham and Women’s Hospital

Dr. Nicholas Sadovnikoff will be discussing the historical evolution of ethic committees and ethics consultations. He will discuss the indications for consultation as well as the roles these individuals or teams may play in the care of the critically ill patient.

 

May Hua, MD

Columbia University Medical Center

Dr. May Hua will be reviewing the evidence base surrounding palliative care in the intensive care unit.

 

 

 

Michael Nurok, MBChB, PhD, FCCM

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Dr. Michael Nurok will be investigating whether there can be cost savings at the end of life in the ICU in a system in which the care of critically ill patients can be very expensive.