Larner College of Medicine News & Media

Medical Ethics Advisor Covers Stapleton-led Research on CPR ‘Informed Assent’

November 1, 2022 by Lucy Gardner Carson

(NOVEMBER 2022) Researchers led by pulmonologist and critical care physician Renee Stapleton, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, concluded that “informed assent” for CPR is a “feasible and reasonable” approach for some hospitalized patients, according to Medical Ethics Advisor.

Renee Stapleton, M.D., Ph.D.

(NOVEMBER 2022) Researchers led by pulmonologist and critical care physician Renee Stapleton, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, concluded that “informed assent” for CPR -- a concept developed to satisfy both the right of physicians to initiate DNR orders in futile situations and their duty to communicate to patients and lawful surrogates of incapacitated patients -- is a “feasible and reasonable” approach for some hospitalized patients, according to Medical Ethics Advisor. “We wanted to work on shifting the paradigm on this issue, especially among older patients with severe underlying illness who are extremely unlikely to benefit from this procedure,” Stapleton explained. The informed assent approach preserves patient and family autonomy. “It removes the burden of decision-making for a procedure that is highly unlikely to provide benefit,” she said.

Read full story at Medical Ethics Advisor