April 23, 2025 Webinar Information

What constitutes not making decisions in the patient’s best interest?

Webinar Description

One of the most frequent reasons for ethics consultation in West Virginia hospitals is conflict over the continuation of life-sustaining treatment in a patient with a very poor prognosis. Many ethics committees have developed policies for addressing continuing requests by patients or families for medically ineffective or potentially inappropriate life support. However, policies are not a panacea. Many times, such cases require meticulous attention to psychosocial issues and excellent interpersonal communication skills.  This webinar will address 1) the medical and psychosocial context for this case and what more was needed beyond the clinical acumen that the patient was imminently dying despite the clinical team’s best efforts, 2) an awareness of how trauma-informed care can improve the care of the family as well as the patient, and 3) how patience and building a relationship with the family can result in resolution of an ethical conflict.

Panelists

The panelists for the webinar are Reverend Jennifer A. Johnson, Manager, Pastoral Care, Cabell Huntington Hospital, Kyle Chapman, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of  Pulmonary and Critical Care, West Virginia University School of Medicine, Stacie Honaker, Esq, the Risk Manager and Privacy Officer for the WVU Health Sciences Center and ex-officio member of the WVNEC Advisory Committee,  Reverend Jennifer A. Johnson, Manager Pastoral Care for Cabell Huntington Hospital, Dan Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, West Virginia University, and Alvin H. Moss, MD, Professor of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, and Executive Director of WVNEC. They will discuss the multiple clinical, psychosocial, existential/spiritual, ethical and legal issues in the case and recommend how best to approach and resolve the conflict. Please attend, chat in your questions and comments, and learn answers to your questions and those of others.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of the session, participants should be able to:

• Describe the clinical, existential/spiritual, psychosocial, ethical, and legal issues in this case of an imminently dying patient in the intensive care unit and a family member who did not want to let go;
• Discuss trauma-informed care and why clinicians do not want to traumatize patients or families;
• Cite West Virginia healthcare law relevant to cases involving ethical and legal conflict over withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment; and
• Apply an ethics process, relevant healthcare law, and psychosocial and spiritual skills to resolve conflict in patient care.