Background: Following the Supreme Court of Canada’s Carter Decision, medical
assistance in dying (MAID) became possible with individual court orders in February 2016. …

BACKGROUND The majority of patients who die in hospital have a “Do Not Resuscitate” (DNR)
order in place at the time of their death, yet we know very little about why some patients …

Drug supply shortages are common in health systems due to manufacturing and other delays.
Frequently, shortages are successfully addressed through conservation and redistribution …

PURPOSE: When patients are unable to communicate their own wishes, surrogates are
commonly used to aid in decision making. Although each jurisdiction has its own rules or …

Rasouli underwent surgery for a benign brain tumour in 2010, but a postoperative infection
resulted in severe brain damage and minimal consciousness. At the time the Supreme Court …

Despite improvements in communication, errors in end of life care continue to be made. For
example, health care professionals may take direction from the wrong substitute decision-…

Background Potentially inappropriate treatment in critically ill adults is associated with
healthcare provider distress and burnout. Knowledge regarding perceived potentially …

Though much attention in the medical literature has focused on the ethics of critical care, it
seems to be disproportionately weighted toward clinical issues. On the presumption that the …

Background Ethics consultations are established in contemporary health care. Informal ethics
consultations often occur and are possibly beneficial, yet they have not been empirically …

Increased pressure on acute care hospitals to move patients seamlessly through the healthcare
system has resulted in more attention to the process of discharging patients, particularly …