A Death Prolonged: Answers to difficult end-of-life issues like code status, living wills, do not resuscitate, and the excessive costs of terminal ... that leads to suffering and financial waste. - Softcover

Gordon, Jeffrey Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0981981801 ISBN 13: 9780981981802

Publisher: Med Matters Media LLC, 2009

Synopsis

This novel attacks myths about end-of-life care that lead to unnecessary suffering and financial waste. Health professionals and the public alike need this information so they can make good decisions and avoid disasters at the end of life. By addressing this issue through fiction, Dr. Gordon takes his readers into a hospital to witness the perils of delaying the discussions about end-of-life care. The story engages and informs to motivate people to act on this crucial issue.

About this title

From the Publisher

Dr. Gordon has written a compelling novel that addresses a major social issue. We will not be able to finance health care in America if we do not deal with the overwhelming burden of end-of-life care. Thirty percent of Medicare expenditures occur during the last year of life and one-half of that is spent in the last two months. That represents $68 billion in 2008. Our population is growing older, so without changes, this burden will continue to swell.
Most elderly people have not discussed their wishes about end-of-life care, so the medical system must take every measure to prolong their lives. One must determine in advance to decline life-prolonging measures, if that is their choice. Dr. Gordon advocates for patient education because medical studies show that people do not understand end-of-life care. Reality television depicts measures like CPR and resuscitation as successful most of the time, when the truth is a success rate of 5-10% in people over age 70. People need these facts to make informed decisions.
Besides the needless suffering in elderly people as they face a prolonged death, uninsured people often delay or decline medical care that could avoid catastrophic illness. Dr. Gordon takes the reader into the real life situations of an urban hospital to face these realities.

From the Author

I urge you to read A Death Prolonged and come into an urban hospital with me to face the realities of end-of-life care. You'll experience the excitement of a new intern's first days of training as she feels the thrill of saving lives, but then encounters the dark reality of death prolonged. She faces difficult ethical and moral issues that change her life forever.
If you want to understand the need for big changes as spoken from someone who is on the front lines, then read this book. There is no good solution being offered to this difficult matter, but those I provide are attainable and will work.
The book has been reviewed by several physicians as noted in the endorsements and acknowledgments, so it is a peer-reviewed publication.

Edition details

• Publisher: Med Matters Media LLC
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0981981801
• ISBN 13: 9780981981802
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 196