title: Advance directives use in acute care hospitals.
abstract: It is a federal requirement for health care organizations to provide and obtain information from admitted patients about their rights to self-determination and executing an advance directive. But how compliant are acute care organizations with this law? This article explores the extent to which hospitalized patients in one Southeastern United States organization had advance directive documentation; its correlation with socioeconomic factors, and the success of educating patients and providing care that is consistent with patient's wishes.
authors.affiliation: Bioethics and Patient Rights Coordinator for Baptist Health South Florida, Florida International University's Master of Health Services Administration program, Surgical Services, Miami Children's Hospital in Miami, Florida, USA. rosea@baptisthealth.net
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Allen
authors.forename: Nestor
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ventura
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D032722:Advance Care Planning / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D024362:Advance Directive Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D032962:Consent Forms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007297:Inpatients / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019727:Proxy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016414:Resuscitation Orders; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015144:Southeastern United States / Q000453:epidemiology