Do physicians discuss end-of-life decisions with family members? A mortality follow-back study

An increasing number of people are confronted with a relative who is dying from a chronic life-limiting disease such as cancer, dementia or cardiovascular disease [1]. These deaths are often, and increasingly, preceded by potentially life-shortening medical end-of-life decisions (ELDs) [2 –9], including non-treatment decisions (withholding or withdrawing medical treatment) and increasing drug administration to relieve pain and other symptoms, or less common procedures such as physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia (defined as ‘the act, undertaken by a third party, which intent ionally ends the life of a person at his or her request’ [10]).

Source: Patient Education and Counseling - March 2, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Maarten Vermorgen, Aline De Vleminck, Luc Deliens, Dirk Houttekier, Nele Spruytte, Chantal Van Audenhove, Joachim Cohen, Kenneth Chambaere Source Type: research