Ethics guidelines for destination therapy.

Abstract

The introduction of the left ventricular assist device as a destination therapy for patients with heart failure introduces several ethical issues. These issues are discussed to help destination therapy teams design ethically sound policies and procedures. This article addresses ethical issues pertaining to informed decision making, device failure, and change out, as well as guidelines for deactivation, fair employment of medical and psychosocial criteria, the nature of destination therapy as an elective end-of-life therapy, and advance care planning strategies.