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Addressing End-of-Life Issues
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To the Editor: In his article,1 Dr Weissman discusses how to address end-of-life issues, an important and changing subject. The article included an interview with the medical oncologist who has cared for a cancer patient over the past 2 years. During these years, the physician was able to establish a trusting relationship with the patient and probably with her family.
With the evolution of inpatient care, hospitalists frequently substitute for primary care physicians in the hospital for patients with a noncancer diagnosis, for whom the demarcation of disease progression may be less clear than for patients with a cancer diagnosis. Not only is it harder to recognize when these end-of-life conversations should occur, but the important relationships needed to have a thoughtful and trusted discussion may not have been developed. Although specialists involved with the patient could have that relationship, the specialist may view only a small part of . . . [Full Text of this Article]
David B. Edwards, MD
david.edwards@bannerhealth.com Banner Desert Medical Center Mesa, Ariz
RELATED ARTICLE
Decision Making at a Time of Crisis Near the End of Life
David E. Weissman
JAMA. 2004;292(14):1738-1743.
ABSTRACT
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