Feasibility of a Standardized Video for Patient Education and as a Decision Aid on Code Status for Patients in the Emergency Department Pending Admission to the Hospital

The code status video, produced by experts in palliative medicine and end of life care, has been evaluated in a variety of healthcare settings to allow patients to make more informed decisions based on realistic information about resuscitation status. This video could be used as a supplement for clinical discussions and decision making. It is not meant to replace a careful, individualized discussion by the clinician with patients and their families, but appears to be a helpful tool to help educate patients in order for them to be better informed to make complicated decisions about their code status. The Emergency Department is an ideal setting to evaluate the video because they could improve patient understanding in an environment with inherently limited face-to-face provider time.

Specific Aims

1. To assess the satisfaction of patients and family members who view the video on cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This will be measured through use of a questionnaire asking them to score their comfort with watching the video and how likely they would be to recommend the video to others.
2. To assess if watching the standardized video changes patients' code status. This will be measured as what patients' code status was before and after watching the video.