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0 pointsjanzer14y ago0 comments

Not to mention that at least where I'm from a tattoo will not and cannot be accepted by EMS personnel as a valid order. Here is the relevant part from our Medical Control treatment protocols on what can be accepted as a valid do not resuscitate order:

"Patient is wearing a do-not-resuscitate identification bracelet which is clearly imprinted wit the words “Do-Not-Resuscitate Order”, name and address of declarant, and the name and telephone number of declarant’s attending physician, if any OR

The EMS provider is provided with a do-not-resuscitate order from the patient. Such an order form shall be in substantially the form outlined in Annex 1 or 2 and shall be dated and signed by all parties."

Anything else and we are required to follow all the regular resuscitation efforts.

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7 comments · 1 top-level

vacri14y ago· 6 in thread

How bizarre that they'll accept 'do not resuscitate' on jewellry, but not tattooed across the chest.

"Do we think he really meant it? Nah, he just got the tattoo - if he really meant it, he'd be wearing one of those constantly annoying bracelets"

rdouble14y ago

The bracelet is an official state issued thing for people with terminal diseases. Obtaining one requires a doctor's order.

A tattoo (or any other non-official marking) could be anyone, like a depressed person who is going to attempt suicide.

Something related to this actually happened where I live last week. A 30 year old afghanistan vet wrote "do not resuscitate" on his arm with a sharpie and then shot himself in the chest in a hospital parking lot.

angelbob14y ago

I suspect he meant it, too.

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jader20114y ago

If I were a doctor, I think I would be more prone to recognize a "NO CODE" bracelet over a tattoo. A tattoo is a decision you made on a single day. Wearing a bracelet is a decision you make every day of your life.

(Of course, you could say that leaving the tattoo in place is a decision you make every day, but it's much easier to remove a bracelet if you change your mind, vs. a tattoo.)

Splines14y ago

Opt-in/Opt-out, as it were. Considering the consequences, I agree with the reasoning.

mfringel14y ago

What if "NO CODE" is the name of a band?

You're asking someone to make a quick life-or-death decision on ambiguous data when there is a clearly known and socially agreed upon way to express the sentiment.

Having it on an annoying bracelet that is explicitly used to signal medical intent sounds pretty good to me.

vacri14y ago

So what if "NO CODE" is the name of a band? I'm talking about "Do not resuscitate" - and if you tattoo that on your chest because it's a cool band name, you're an utter fuckwit. 'No Code' is stupid anyway because not everywhere uses that jargon, while 'do not rescuscitate' is clear, plain English.

As for the bracelet, I hate jewellery and anything from my elbows down catches on anything that I'm working on with my hands, and I'm not alone - and unlike the tattoo which is only 'present' at parts of the day, a bracelet is always 'present'. Not to mention that there's all sorts of medical accoutrements that infirm people are supposed to carry with them but don't because they're annoying (prime example being the 'help, I've fallen' pagers).

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