Minerva anestesiologica
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Minerva anestesiologica · Oct 2015
Observational StudySwiss physicians' perspectives on advance directives in elective cardiovascular surgery.
When patients are incompetent, advance directives (AD) can help physicians take crucial medical decisions. However, prevalence remains low. The objective was to investigate physicians' perspectives and attitudes towards AD in order to determine potential targets for improvement. ⋯ Not all physicians knew the concept of AD. The majority thought that AD were useful and would help patients write them, in order to respect their autonomy. Personal-related factors such as feelings of inducing fear or harm patients were more important than logistic factors in impeding the promotion of AD. Emphasizing AD during medical school might present a potential target to increase AD prevalence, particularly in the preoperative setting.