End Of Life

Today, medical interventions have made it possible to save or prolong lives, but should the process of dying be left to nature? (Brogden, 2001). Phrases such as, “killing is always considered murder,” and “while life is present, so is hope” are not enough to contract with the present medical knowledge in the Canadian health care system, which is proficient of giving injured patients a chance to live, which in the past would not have been possible (Brogden, 2001). According to Brogden, a number of economic and ethical questions arise concerning the increasing elderly population. This is the reason why the Canadian society ought to endeavor to come to a decision on what is right and ethical when it comes to facing death.

.“As medical technology continues to advance and health care choices become more complicated, the preservation of end-of-life autonomy is an increasingly important issue faced by various client populations.” (Galambos, 1998).

A survey was conducted in 2000 on more than 9,000 patients discharged from more than 2,000 hospices on the services they received (Carlson, 2007). It revealed that 22% of them received five major palliative care services, which varied among the hospices. These palliative care services were nursing care, physician care, medication management, psychological care, and caregiver support. Approximately 14% of the hospices provided all five services and 33% provided only one or two services. Only 59% of these patients received medication management services. These included administering medication, dispensing correct dosages, and setting and following dosage schedule.

Other barriers in implementation might include the legality of certain medical interventions, associated costs and limited resources for providing the best care possible (Mason, 2013, p.12). As nurses, a barrier in implementing advance directives might also arise when advocated end-of-life wishes are undervalued or poorly recognized by others who do not share the same comfort or high priority in the medical workplace. Finally, the patient, families, and healthcare professionals face barriers in misconceptions regarding advance directives, especially in regards to

In contrast to the costs of standard medical care, hospice care provides an alternative that is both cost effective and caring. Unfortunately, it is actually difficult to quantify the cost savings associated with hospice care due to the fact that comparing costs during the last year of life are impacted by the variability in the length of hospice use. A study at Duke University went to extensive lengths to provide a comparison that provided an effective method for accurate comparisons. The comparison showed a reduced average Medicare expenditure of $2,309 per person from the time hospice care was initiated in comparison to the same situation handled through standard medical methods (Taylor, Ostermann, Houtven, Tulsky, & Steinhauser, 2007). The amount of cost savings varied depending on the primary health condition and the

Great strides have been made to improve end-of-life care through palliative care and hospice programs, but sometimes that’s just not enough. In America, the care that is offered to the elderly and the chronically ill is less than ideal. Statistics show that an

The importance of end of life issues and decisions are now being discussed at the time of admission to most acute care and long term acute care facilities. More attention is being placed on these specific decisions to ensure that the patient's

Advanced care directives are legal documents provided to physicians and health care workers with an outline containing preferences for the treatment at end of life. Patients often do not discuss their wishes regarding end-of-life care with family members or health care providers prior to the event of a serious illness or traumatic event. Educational interventions focus on raising awareness and providing patients with information on advance care planning.

Another example of costly treatment and the emotional toll it took is found in an article poignantly titled “The Cost of Hope”. Amanda Bennett discusses the financial cost of her husband’s end of life care that spanned over seven years she stated, “his care totaled $618,616… enough money to vaccinate 600,00 children in the developing world.” Knowing the price tag of a person’s end of life care would certainly be taken into consideration for PAS.

This film explains the legal role of advance directives in end of life issues. An advance directive is “a written document directing how medical decisions are to be made in the future when the patient lacks decisional capacity and is unable to decide and choose” (Hanlon, End of Life Issues, Slide 28, Bullet 1). All three of the cases demonstrate the importance in filling out some form of directive. When there is nothing to go off of, it makes decisions extremely tough for families and medical providers. Having legal documentation of patient wishes helps understand what treatments they would or would not consent to. In cases like

In today’s world the cost for medical attention and health insurance has increased to the point that it may cause a significant amount of strain to a family of a terminally ill patient. The health insurance issues have become large enough to attract the attention of the political world. We are now witnessing how difficult it has been for Health Care

With an increasing aging population and growing numbers of individuals with chronic conditions, it is important for individuals to prepare for end-of-life care. An Advance Directive is a defined as a “legal document that provides data to critical care staff about patients’ wishes, especially when critical illness decreases decision-making ability” (McAdam, Stotts, Padilla, and Puntillo, 2005). An Advance Directive also allows for better communication between the patient and doctor, and preserves the autonomy of patients. It may also alleviate one’s family from any possible burden of uncertainty of one’s wishes. It provides guidance, which may avert arguments with family members concerning treatment choices (Cedars Sinai, 2015). The Patient

With major advancement in medical treatments, it is now possible to keep a patient alive, which would not have been possible in former times. This has made end of life issue one of the most controversial issues in healthcare. Medical improvements have set the stage for ethical and legal controversies about not only the patient’s rights but also the family’s rights and the medical profession’s proper role. It is critical that any decision made in such situation is ethical and legal to preserve the rights of the patient and also protect the healthcare institution involved. It is very important when making decisions to discontinue treatments to make sure all other alternatives have been explored.

Hospice is a component of palliative care. A person does not necessarily have to be dying in order to see a palliative care specialist. This is where the service is often underutilized in the hospital. In the 18 months I have been a nurse, I have cared for many patients with chronic illnesses who have dealt with symptoms that have severely impacted their quality of life. Most of the time, it seems as though the patient’s care providers are interested in treating the patient’s acute problems. My experience has been that the symptoms are often overlooked or are being treated in a manner that is to the dissatisfaction and discomfort of the patient.

There are many ethical issues that the medical field faces daily. One major issue that is a common debate recently is death and dying and the ethical dilemmas associated with this stage in life. There are many different routes a patient can take when they are diagnosed with a terminal illness, two routes that are often up for debate are palliative care and physician assisted suicide. Many ethical concepts are brought up in the debate of these routes of care, sometimes even conflicting one another. Since medicine has advanced over many years we are experiencing a growing population of elders. With this increase in the elderly population, the debate of death and dying has become an important topic to