I think the punishment is woefully weak, but it is a rare case of a health facility (Bristol Hospital, Bristol, CT) being publicly sanctioned for withdrawing or refusing wanted life sustaining treatment. From the story:
In one case, a woman who suffered a heart attack and congestive heart failure completed an advance directive when she entered the intensive care unit, indicating that she wanted CPR and ventilation, but no tracheotomy.
When the woman’s condition deteriorated, a doctor and the woman’s health care agent changed her status to “comfort measures only.” Bristol Hospital’s policy required informed consent from the patient in such a situation, but regulators found that medical records did not indicate that the woman was consulted, even though she was still alert. The doctor told regulators that she spoke with the patient’s health care agent, but could not recall whether she consulted the patient. The woman was taken off the ventilator, and she died that night.
This raises another issue, too: Advance directives’ naming of surrogate decision makers should only apply if the patient is unable to personally make such decisions. Weakness, illness, and disability are no excuses for taking the patient out of the loop.
The punishment was only $4000 for this and other types of violations! But at least it was a public punishment, and SHS feels duty bound to help in that process in the belief that open chastisement has greater power to deter than puny money fines.
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