The Complex Issue Of Legal Guardianship

Legal guardianship is a complex, costly and timely issue within the healthcare field and hospital setting. Although the number of patients who fall into this category is small, it is a costly selection of people (Chen et al., 2014). I chose this topic due to the fact that I have experienced the effects of applying for guardianship while working in the hospital and find that it is a topic that many are uneducated about. Guardianship is a complex issue that takes action when a person does not have a durable power of attorney (DPOA) and is unable to make medical decisions for themselves. This can happen under many circumstances, meaning that it can be a position that anyone ends up in if they do not have a DPOA (Chen et al., 2014). The hospitals
I believe that guardianship is a great way to keep a person from experiencing poor treatment, however there needs to be a more efficient system. Legal guardianship is a complex issue and concept that many do not understand. Guardianship is a set of legal documents that authorizes an individual to make decisions and speak on behalf of another person who is unable to make medical decisions for themselves (Chen et al., 2014). The idea of legal guardianship actually began in the sixteenth-century, as it was the King’s duty to protect those who could not care for themselves. Today, guardianship is appointed to different people making many involved in the process. With today’s process it is the local court’s job to take oversight of guardianship and ensure that the guardian is acting under strict standards to keep them accountable. The court rule, checks and
Two of the articles I read focused on decreasing the length of unnecessary hospital stay for patients who are deemed necessary for a legal guardian. They worked to accelerate the process in order to accelerate the patients acceptance to the next step of their care and rehabilitation (Mackenzie et al., 2012). It was found through research that a typical patient with the need of a legal guardian is ready for discharge or transfer to the next level of their care, but they face barriers related to receiving their legal guardian extending their stay in the hospital. Through the research at Denver Health it was found that patients could spend up to additional weeks at the hospital causing greater financial burdens, risk for venous thrombosis, medication errors and exposure to hospital-acquired infections (Mackenzie et al., 2012). As one can understand, not having a legal guardian through a timely system causes many more burdens for the patient and hospital. I have even personally seen a patient get sick again due to the waiting within the hospital with decreased mobility and