The American journal of medicine
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The do-not-resuscitate order: a comparison of physician and patient preferences and decision-making.
The purpose of this study was to compare the decision-making and preferences regarding do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders of a group of family physicians with a group of out-patients from a family practice center. Complete results of the outpatient questionnaire were published in a previous study by the authors. ⋯ There are significant similarities and differences in the way physicians and patients make DNR decisions. It is important that physicians and their patients communicate in a timely manner about prognosis, values, and quality-of-life issues in order to make effective DNR decisions.