End of Life Issues and Advance Directives
An important Senate hearing explores patient rights, end-of-life care, and how advance directives shape medical decisions in reforming health care.
This volume summarizes testimony and discussions from the May 5, 1994 hearing, focusing on living wills, durable powers of attorney, and the Patient Self-Determination Act. It highlights the practical and ethical questions doctors, patients, and families face when turning patients’ wishes into care plans, and it considers how policy can support meaningful doctor-patient collaboration.
- Learn what advance directives are, how they work in hospital settings, and who is responsible for implementing them.
- See how physicians, policymakers, and patient advocates view end-of-life decision making, including the role of hospice and palliative care.
- Understand the debates around the cost and value of end-of-life care, and the evidence shaping public policy.
- Discover suggested improvements to how information about future care is conveyed to patients at admission and during treatment decisions.
Ideal for readers with an interest in health policy, medical ethics, and the legal and practical aspects of end-of-life planning.