For years now, the medical profession has left unanswered the question of what we should do when there is nothing left to do. Despite research recognizing that more care is not necessarily better care, many Americans still receive substantial doses of medicine in their final days. Specifically, 80% of patients say they would like to avoid hospitalization and intensive care at the end of their life, but in their last month, half of Medicare patients go to the emergency room, one-third are admitted to an intensive care unit, and one-fifth have surgery. Two inventions have shown to help patients live their final days according to their wishes: earlier conversations about their death goals and greater use of palliative care. Patients who implement advance care planning are more likely to have their wishes met, and family members are less likely to experience trauma from the death of a loved one.
See Dhruv Khullar, We’re Bad at Death. Can We Talk?, N.Y. Times, May 10, 2017.
Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.
