Category: Palliative Care
Beginning end-of-life care at the dinner table
Michael Hebb wants Americans to engage in a conversation about how they want to die, a conversation that could change the high cost of caring for the terminally ill and grant patients their ultimate requests.
How mom’s death changed my thinking about end-of-life care
Veteran health reporter Charles Ornstein writes about how his mother’s death has changed how he thinks about end-of-life care.
Aggressive care still the norm for dying seniors
“The good news is that we are referring to hospice. The bad news is we’re referring to hospice in the last hours of life.”
Washington state moves to address epidemic of prescription painkiller overdose deaths – BMJ
A feature article on efforts in Washington state to address the epidemic of prescription painkiller overdose deaths by LocalHealthGuide editor Michael McCarthy appears this week in the BMJ, the journal of the British Medical Society.
End-of-life discussions lead to less aggressive care, more use of hospice
Patients who had end-of-life care discussions early were much less likely to receive aggressive care and more likely to receive hospice care.
Good Reads on the Web: From womb to tomb and other stories.
Long weekend reading: How long should we live? Surgery in the womb. And why are medical students learning the names of their cadavers? — and other best-of-the-web stories selected by KHN’s Shefali S. Kulkarni
U.S. launches plan to prevent Alzheimer’s and improve care
The Obama administration is moving forward with an ambitious agenda to improve the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease and unlock a method to prevent it by 2025. The plan also sets up a wide-ranging effort to improve the care that Alzheimer’s patients receive and support families.
American Pain Foundation shuts down as senators launch investigation of prescription narcotics
The group received 90 percent of its $5 million in funding in 2010 from the drug and medical-device industry, and its guides for patients, journalists and policymakers had played down the risks associated with opioid painkillers while exaggerating the benefits.
Doctors prescribed lethal prescriptions for 103 last year under state’s Death With Dignity Act
Of the 103 who received prescriptions last year, 94 are known to have died. Seventy of these died after taking the medication. Nineteen died without taking the medication. In five deaths, it is not known whether or not they took the medication.
Higher cost of cancer care in the U.S. may be ‘worth it’ — study
Higher U.S. spending for cancer care pays off in almost two years of additional life for American cancer patients on average compared to their European counterparts — a value that offsets our higher costs.
Are seniors being over treated?
You can be healthy well beyond 60, but you’ll be different than you were when you were 20. You’ll have different posture, wrinkles and a lot of other changes that are less obvious but age appropriate. We have to be very, very careful about calling any difference from when we were younger an illness or a disease. And we have to be even more careful about telling people that we have things we can do to “fix” these differences, but this happens all the time. That’s the medicalization of aging.
Viewpoint: Exploring effective pain relief options
The Seattle Times series on methadone deaths highlights the drawbacks of drug treatment for pain and the need to explore alternative approaches, writes Bill Scott.
State to issue warning on opioid risks — Seattle Times
Following an series of articles in the Seattle Times drawing attention to the high death rate among patients taking methadone. Washington state will issue a public health advisory that singles out the unique risks of methadone, a commonly prescribed pain medicine that’s linked to the most accidental overdose deaths.
How doctors die, Newt’s health care heresies and other top stories of the week
How doctors die (Hint: Not like the rest of us). Can vaccines end cancer? Newt Gingrich’s health-care heresies. Should your doctor take money from drug companies? — This week’s top stories.
Seattle Times investigates Washington state’s methadone policy
The Seattle Times has launched an investigative series on Washington state’s policy towards the use of the pain killer methadone for the treatment of chronic pain. The paper argues the drug is dangerously unpredictable and responsible for the deaths of hundreds, particularly among the poor.
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