Most emergency patients rely on physicians to tell them what to do. But if a patient says the following four words, the patient stays in charge: “I receive palliative care.” This compels physicians to listen to the patient first and order tests accordingly. Palliative care means “person-centered care.” Dr. Kevin Haselhorst wants patients to guard… Continue reading Who Makes Your Medical Decisions? How to Stay in Control with Palliative Care
Tag: end-of-life care
Older Married Couples and Advance Directives
A study published in June 2017 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society examined the effects spouses had on the decision of older adults to have Advance directives (ADs), the legal documents you can use to state in advance what medical treatments you do or do not wish to have under certain circumstances. You… Continue reading Older Married Couples and Advance Directives
Aggressive End-of-Life Care Not Always Best
For patients with advanced cancer, end-of-life aggressive care — chemotherapy, mechanical ventilation, acute hospitalizations and intensive care unit admissions — is commonplace. Yet until now, little is known about the relationship between patients’ and families’ satisfaction with this kind of care within the last 30 days of life. A new study, from the Department of… Continue reading Aggressive End-of-Life Care Not Always Best
6 Misconceptions About a Power of Attorney
If you had a television in the 2000s, you are familiar with the famous right-to-die legal case involving Terri Schiavo, her parents, and husband Michael Schiavo. After falling into an irreversible vegetative state, the question became, whether to pull the plug or keep her on life support. Without a Power of Attorney addressing medical, financial,… Continue reading 6 Misconceptions About a Power of Attorney
A Call to Action for End-of-Life Care in Nursing Homes
End-of-life care for nursing home residents has long been associated with poor symptom control and low family satisfaction. With more than one in four older Americans dying in a nursing home — including 70 percent of Americans with advanced dementia — an editorial by Kathleen Unroe, M.D., MHA, Regenstrief Institute and Indiana University Center for… Continue reading A Call to Action for End-of-Life Care in Nursing Homes
Health System Not Meeting End-of-Life Needs
The U.S. health care system is not properly designed to meet the needs of patients nearing the end of life and those of their families, according to a September 2014 report from the Institute of Medicine. The report says that major changes to the system are necessary. A release from IOM notes that the 21-member… Continue reading Health System Not Meeting End-of-Life Needs