Dying patients often receive aggressive, expensive treatment that many would reject if they had a fuller understanding of their options, writes Dr. Angelo Volandes. A series of videos showing what end-of-life care really looks like has allowed patients at a handful of hospitals to make better informed choices. An intervention that first and foremost leads to better patient-centered health care — and also happens to lower costs — is a good thing, and more hospitals should embrace it.
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Comments
I recently did a blog post and free report called "Death-by-ICU" on this subject at http://ourhealthcaresucks.com/health-care/end-of-life-care-in-america/ and just amended them to add your resources. Thanks for taking the initiative on this crucial subject. Now, how do we get more than a fraction of a per cent of US hospitals to offer this to their patients? Family members need to understand that their good intentions are often counter-productive. Once they understand they may have it backwards, we might start to see the kind of sea change needed in how we approach end-of-life care.