Are hospitals allowed to ignore a DNR if it has been formally indicated in a legal medical directive?

They should just expire them period.

Too bad that was not in place for my mom, Maybe then hers would have been expired and they would have not tried so hard to kill her.

States now require a DNR to be reviewed with the patient by an MD on a regular basis, or they are considered expired. In NY, the MD reviews and signs the MOLST every six months.

In my moms case dnr did mean no treatment for the hospital skin infection even if she got this in the hospital. It was up to the doctors or nurses if they wanted to treat or not. It meant haldol/adivan torture. This kind of horrible treatment could also be used on elders, but it makes it easier if the elder has a dnr or for anyone who has a dnr.

They don't actually ignore it. I know here on island, even if it's in the chart, you still need to give a copy every time you go in. They are obligated to ask if any family members present object to it. If even one member does object, they will not honor it. I guess it depends on your states laws regarding this. And then what is the hospital's policy.

DaveIFM My dad and mom had all that in place because they were very well organized. It did not help my mom at all medical staff just did what ever they wanted to they did not care if they were abusing her or neglecting her everything was fine because she had a dnr in place. The dnr even got her life taken away even though she was in good health. That is why I say no to dnrs and legalizing euthanasia. It is already to easy for medical staff to take lives why make it easier.

That is how it is supposed to be, but that is not always how it is as I have found out the hard way. There is so much neglect and abuse in the medical field especially as soon as they find out there is a dnr. That is why I say they are not safe. People think they can just sue so they are protected, but the only time you can sue is if the patient is still alive and then you have one year (at least in our state) to sue and you get a medical fund put aside to take care of the mistake that medical staff did.It has obvious and or bad . So I would not count on the doctors and staff behaving because patients are protected and medical staff is afraid of getting sued.That never crosses their mind. It has to be very obvious like a sponge left in that caused damage then you may get covered to take care of the infection.Medical staff are safe no matter what they want to do. They would have to be a serial killer and then it still takes years to get caught.They are very well protected, but there is no protection for the patients.PATIENTS ARE NOT PROTECTED.MEDICAL STAFF DO AS THEY PLEASE.We need to change this cause the only medical staff doing a good job would be the ones who have good morals and are decent people and want to do right by people.

flowgo, a DNR does not affect any treatment other than that which would require intubation or CPR. Patients who are DNR can continue to get chemotherapy, antibiotics, dialysis, or any other appropriate treatments.

If one is seriously ill, the heart will stop for a reason... it's time to let nature take its course.

DNR means do not resuscitate. It does not mean don't give any care. You can only be resuscitated if you have clinically died, not if you are still alive.

Much safer to have no dnr

Everyone should have both a Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) and Comfort Care DNR Verification

They are a right and are fine to have if you want to be totally neglected when you need any kind of medical care unless it is to help the medical staff out. Example giving deadly sedatives and other things that can push a person to die. Forget about getting any kind of real medical help that will actually help the patient. The kind of help you are more likely to receive if you don't have a dnr. I am not a minority I have heard from and seen so many people having these troubles. Many people want a dnr to make things easier for their relatives, like my mom. People like my mom don't realize what they are getting themselves into. dnrs brought us terrible pain not only from our relative being forced to die but the medical abuse that she got as well. We found out about how unbelievably cruel the medical staff can be. Atrocious.

I usually don't comment on others' answers. Flowgo, I'll make an exception. To those who have thoughtfully executed DNRs on their own behalf, helped their loved ones execute them and helped them be appropriately placed -- know that Flowgo is in a distinct minority. DNRs are our right and the right of our loved ones...opinions of others to the contrary notwithstanding.

I have never heard of them ignoring a dnr usually it is the opposite. They not only honor the dnr they welcome it cause then the medical staff does not have to do anything at all for that person. They love it, let the patient get sick and die and even help them die off faster.Staff still get paid, dnrs need to be banned.

Thank you for the answers, everyone. They all helped, and I will find an elder care lawyer.

Before I switched hospitals for my husband I called and asked the administrator if they honored DNR. I was told that all hospitals in this state must honor it. I've read that in GA the hospital must honor it and that individual health professionals who had objections to DNR must tell their supervisor and be reassigned off the case. I don't know how much it varies from state to state.

When I took over being the main caregiver for mom, I made sure that I had several copies of her DNR. When I called the ambulance (911), I gave the medics 1 copy. When I got to the hospital ER, I gave them another copy. When I did this, the ER did not give mom IV, nor her nutrient drink the whole day she was in the ER.

I have read here on AC that some hospitals are no longer honoring the DNR. There is Another Form that supercedes the DNR in these cases. I believe it's called POLST ? So, it may be best to just have Both forms with you in case the hospital does not honor DNR but do with the Polst.

POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) is a form that states what kind of medical treatment patients want toward the end of their lives...

Technical No but there have been cases of where "life sustaining" measures have been taken when the patient had a DNR on file with there doctor. They most common I have heard is when the emergency took place the actual treating medical personnel did not have or were not aware of the DNR (a communication breakdown). Or a family member present at the time made the choice. Of course there are many different reasons and whys and the aws are different from state to state. I strongly recommend you speak with a lawyer (I am not one!)
Just recently I helped my in-laws with all their paperwork. I had numerous copies of the advance directive (which has the DNR) and made sure every doctor that treats my in-laws has a copy, he has a copy and I do.

Hope this helps. ?