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Can't We Improve on Advance Directives?
- Gerlyn M. Brasic, MD; and
- Bernard J. Hammes,
- From Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, WI 54601.
TO THE EDITOR:
“Every system is perfectly designed to produce the outcomes it achieves.” The article by Perkins (1) underscores this point. Whereas many patients believe that completing an advance directive improves the chance that their choices will be respected (2), the tragic events of this story demonstrate that health systems are often unprepared to recognize and honor a patient's preferences even when they are specifically stated.
The failure in the story of Mr. Jones is not because of a flawed advance directive but because the primary physician did …
