The man arrived at the hospital unconscious, without identification, with a high blood alcohol level. He was 70, had a history of lung disease, heart problems and diabetes, and three words tattooed in big, black letters across his chest: “Do not resuscitate”. Doctors at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Florida weren’t sure how to proceed…

A QUARTER of the nation’s health budget is devoted to futile end-of-life care that strips patients of a dignified death and means healthier people have their surgery delayed…