More than one in three proxies do not know their loved one's current code status: An observational study in a Maryland ICU.

Rationale: The majority of ICU patients lack decision-making capacity at some point during their ICU stay. However the extent to which proxy decision-makers are engaged in decisions about their patient's care is challenging to quantify.

Objectives: To assess 1)whether proxies know their patient's actual code status as recorded in the electronic medical record (EMR), and 2)whether code status orders reflect ICU patient preferences as reported by proxy decision-makers.

A brief intervention for preparing ICU families to be proxies: A phase I study.

Background: Family members of critically ill patients report high levels of conflict with clinicians, have poor understanding of prognosis, struggle to make decisions, and experience substantial symptoms of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress regardless of patient survival status. Efficient interventions are needed to prepare these families to act as patient proxies.

Objectives: To assess a brief "patient activation" intervention designed to set expectations and prepare families of adult intensive care unit (ICU) patients to communicate effectively with the clinical team.