Table 3.

Examples of guidelines for the evaluation of the completed ReSPECT form.

Item	Evaluation guidelines
Section 2, “reasons for the preferences and recommendations recorded”	Reasons should be specific (e.g. ‘because the patient is unlikely to benefit from invasive ventilation, this treatment is not recommended’) for the item to score a point. If reasons are non-specific (e.g. ‘treatment likely to be futile’), the item does not score a point.
Section 4, “Now provide clinical guidance on specific interventions that may or may not be wanted or clinically appropriate, including being taken or admitted to hospital ± receiving life support”	For the item to score two points, specific interventions (such as antibiotics, dialysis, intravenous fluids, non-invasive ventilation) should be mentioned. If only general instructions (e.g., not for ITU, for ward based care) are mentioned, the item scores one point.