An extensive introduction to patient-centeredness in critical care through case-based examples of shared decision making.

Sponsored by the Picker/Commonwealth Program for Patient-Centered Care In this comprehensive, research-based look at the experiences and needs of patients, the authors explore models of care that can make hospitalization more humane. Through the Patient's Eyes provides insights into why some hospitals are more patient-centered than others; how physicians can become more involved in patient-centered quality efforts; and how patient-centered quality can be integrated into health care policy, standards, and regulations. The authors show how, by bringing the patient's perspective to the design and delivery of health services, providers can improve their ability to meet patient's needs and enhance the quality of care.

The adult critical care setting requires complex clinical decisions to be made that have a dramatic impact on the lives of patients and their families. This textbook offers evidence-based case histories around shared decision making, providing practical advice to clinicians who are trying to navigate routine clinical scenarios in adult critical care. Early chapters explore the definition of the shared decision making process and practical steps that aid its implementation. The greater part of the book focuses on how shared decision making can be practiced in specific situations that are common in adult critical care, highlighting the relevant knowledge base necessary to manage each situation. Do-not-resuscitate and do-not-intubate orders, ECMO, and resolving conflicts regarding potentially inappropriate treatment are among the topics covered. An essential resource for healthcare professionals working in critical care and those looking for a framework for the use of shared decision making in this setting.

Now in paperback, the second edition of the Oxford Textbook of Critical Care is a comprehensive multi-disciplinary text covering all aspects of adult intensive care management. Uniquely this text takes a problem-orientated approach providing a key resource for daily clinical issues in the intensive care unit. The text is organized into short topics allowing readers to rapidly access authoritative information on specific clinical problems. Each topic refers to basic physiological principles and provides up-to-date treatment advice supported by references to the most vital literature. Where international differences exist in clinical practice, authors cover alternative views. Key messages summarise each topic in order to aid quick review and decision making. Edited and written by an international group of recognized experts from many disciplines, the second edition of the Oxford Textbook of Critical Careprovides an up-to-date reference that is relevant for intensive care units and emergency departments globally. This volume is the definitive text for all health care providers, including physicians, nurses, respiratory therapists, and other allied health professionals who take care of critically ill patients.

For patients and their loved ones, no care decisions are more profound than those made near the end of life. Unfortunately, the experience of dying in the United States is often characterized by fragmented care, inadequate treatment of distressing symptoms, frequent transitions among care settings, and enormous care responsibilities for families. According to this report, the current health care system of rendering more intensive services than are necessary and desired by patients, and the lack of coordination among programs increases risks to patients and creates avoidable burdens on them and their families. Dying in America is a study of the current state of health care for persons of all ages who are nearing the end of life. Death is not a strictly medical event. Ideally, health care for those nearing the end of life harmonizes with social, psychological, and spiritual support. All people with advanced illnesses who may be approaching the end of life are entitled to access to high-quality, compassionate, evidence-based care, consistent with their wishes. Dying in America evaluates strategies to integrate care into a person- and family-centered, team-based framework, and makes recommendations to create a system that coordinates care and supports and respects the choices of patients and their families. The findings and recommendations of this report will address the needs of patients and their families and assist policy makers, clinicians and their educational and credentialing bodies, leaders of health care delivery and financing organizations, researchers, public and private funders, religious and community leaders, advocates of better care, journalists, and the public to provide the best care possible for people nearing the end of life.