A homeless patient is unconscious after a drug overdose. He…
A homeless patient is unconscious after a drug overdose. He does not have any family that can be identified. A man in the patient’s room identifies himself as the patient’s best friend, but says they are the only family each other has and says they call each other brothers. It is clear that the patient and his friend have a very close and caring relationship. The patient’s friends claims that he and the patient have “spoken about what the patient would want done if he overdosed on drugs again.” It is legally and ethical to allow the patient’s friend to make the patient’s medical decisions?