Appeal Board Finds Physicians Must Obtain Consent for DNRs - Lonny Rosen Comments

A recent decision of the Health Professions Appeal and Review Board underscores the requirement for physicians to obtain consent for do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders. The decision of the Board in  E.G.J.W. v M.G.C., 2014 CanLII 49888 (ON HPARB) makes clear that the Board views a DNR order as a plan of treatment for which consent is required.

Of significant interest is the fact that two panels of the Inquiries, Complaints and Reports Committee (ICRC) of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario found that the physicians’ actions were appropriate. The ICRC ruled that the doctors acted with good judgment, saying that life-preserving measures would be futile and would only exacerbate the man’s suffering.