I look forward to a sudden, quick, painless death. I’m not one for a long life of ever declining health.

I have a Do Not Resuscitate order in my trust. But how do people know if I’m just out in public? If I get into an accident and the EMTs come. How would they know not to resuscitate? Or a good samaritan applying CPR or mouth to mouth?

My girlfriend wears a Medical ID to show drug interactions. Maybe something like that? Check with your local pharmacy for a source to make you one.

Medical Bracelet.

Use "Medical ID" on your smart phone.

iPhone uses the "health" app.

The info is on you lock screen, that can be accessed without your input by first responders.

Other than that, it is hard to control how a "Good Samaritan" will deal with a Medic Alert ID or your phone.

They also make DNR jewelry. Or if you didn't want to wear something, a wallet card, which they would search if you were incapacitated in an accident.

I’ll look into bracelets although I’m generally loathe to wear them or jewelry. Phone seems unreliable, especially if I have a cardiac event while swimming. I’m guessing a small DNR tattoo across the chest would be a bit unseemly and morbid?

In any case, other than a bracelet, there is no universally accepted way to do this it seems.

You need to check your local laws. Granted it's been a while but when I was working a DNR had as much legal meaning for us as a piece of used toilet paper. Following it would have put us in DEEP trouble with Medical Control in the county & the state. We had people really upset with us and had to have police back up called as we had no choice but to treat the unconscious patient in full arrest.

Find out what the local, county, state laws are regarding a DNR and follow them. Just because it's available on AMAZON doesn't mean it will be honored by responders.

Hmmm well that’s interesting. Wonder what the history behind that is.

On one of those court tv shows a person was sueing the "Good Samaritan" who preformed CPR and saved his life.. He had a "DNR" tatoo on his chest and he was sueing for a bunch of money because the "Good Samaritan" disreguarded the DNR tatoo. .. Do not remember the court outcomme...... drill sgt.

I could see this for something like a persistent vegetative state, but if you are just found unconscious when the condition or injury that caused it is likely recoverable, you don't want anybody to help you? That makes no sense to me.

Have your decisions recorded in your file with your doctor. The hospital may be able to retrieve it. Also, have a copy at home that a trusted person can retrieve and take to the hospital if necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:
On one of those court tv shows a person was sueing the "Good Samaritan" who preformed CPR and saved his life.. He had a "DNR" tatoo on his chest and he was sueing for a bunch of money because the "Good Samaritan" disreguarded the DNR tatoo. .. Do not remember the court outcomme...... drill sgt.

Pretty sure it was this "FCKN" guy. Lol.

The hardest thing that I have ever done in my life………..

The second was bringing her ashes home.

Laws are different everywhere, but Texas has a separate “Out-of-Hospital” DNR form required. My granddad had his hanging on the refrigerator door with a magnet so everyone knew where to find it in an emergency at home.

Defying a DNR is essentially medical assault. At least in Tennessee… carries huge ramifications. Especially monetary. And can result in loss of liscense and ethics violations.

Andrew

In my state a DNR will not be honored by any emergency responders. Police, fire, private ambulance service.

Senior living facilities such as assisted living or nursing homes will honor it, but only to the extent that they will not administer cpr. But they do call 911, and then the responders will take heroic measures.

In the hospital they will honor it, but they require the signed document.

If you have an emergency out in public, your DNR will be ignored. If you have an emergency at home, make sure your family knows to not call 911. If you are in hospital, make sure they have a copy of your DNR. I believe with medical POA someone else can sign the DNR if you are in hospital and gravely ill.

My state honors DNRs and other advanced directives in the field, but they have to be original and physically present.

Nothing else counts. No tattoo, medical IDs, jewelry, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Fly-Sig: If you are in hospital, make sure they have a copy of your DNR. I believe with medical POA someone else can sign the DNR if you are in hospital and gravely ill.

In my situation that was true, especially since the medical POA and other legal documents were set up in the same state as the hospital (Texas). Out of state medical POAs may or may not not be honored by the hospital depending on the hospital and state laws. Some hospitals require a separate DNR form specifically for that facility and require you to be designated on the Medical POA in order to sign the form for the person entering the hospital. Make sure you get a copy of that after it's signed and accepted by the hospital.

Also, take the extra step to post another copy of the DNR on the wall near the hospital bed. Don't rely on a document stuck in the filing system to be known by every doctor, nurse and caretaker that comes into the room.

And finally, take a picture of the DNR posted close to the person in the hospital bed. This precludes the hospital workers from claiming they didn't know about its existence after the signed form mysteriously disappears from the wall. Been there, done that, had the battle with the hospital administration when my dad was in the hospital.

It would be easier to find out what the laws are where YOU live .

As others have said, it's all state specific.

Here in MA, if you don't have a physical copy of the actual form on you we have to work you. No fancy bracelets, necklaces, tattoos or anything else will cause us to withhold resuscitation. Only the form itself. And it has to be filled out 100% correct or it's invalid.

In my state, you have to physically show the DNR document to the hospital or especially the Paramedics for them to cease resuscitation.