End-of-Life Care news
October 1, 2000 3 minutes read
End-of-Life Care news
Terminally ill cancer patients favor right to die
Terminally ill cancer patients by and large support legalizing euthanasia and assisted suicide for instances when symptoms become too painful to bear.
The results of a survey appeared in the Sept. 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine. Those who oppose legalizing such practices do so on religious or moral grounds, researchers reveal. The findings, they say, suggest that a consensus between those who oppose and those who support those practices is unlikely.
"It is apparent from these reasons that people with different opinions about legalization are not simply arguing for different sides of the same issue; rather, their positions are grounded in different issues altogether," concludes Keith G. Wilson, MD, with The Rehabilitation Centre in Ottawa.
Intolerable pain feared most
Investigators found that of the 70 terminally ill patients interviewed, 73% believed that euthanasia and assisted suicide are acceptable practices, and 21% thought neither practice was acceptable and should not be legalized. Overall, if the practices were legal, 58% said they might decide to hasten their death if pain and physical symptoms were to become intolerable.
Researchers point out, however, that pain is not the only reason terminally ill patients wish to die. "Psychological and existential dimensions of suffering — which are perhaps no less central in determining quality of life — also emerge as important reasons behind patient requests for physician-hastened death," they conclude.
MedicAlert offers advance directives service
A leading national emergency medical information service announced the addition of a national repository for end-of-life medical information.
MedicAlert Foundation, the Turlock, CA-based information service, launched the service in late August. Medical preference documents for an individual’s end-of-life care directives can be stored, including life support directives, resuscitation, organ donation, living wills, and power of attorney.
"This service responds to the need for fast and confidential access by medical personnel," notes Tanya J. Glazebrook, president and CEO of MedicAlert Foundation. "It’s a natural extension of our services because we already store and transmit emergency medical information for millions of members around the world, and are universally recognized within the health care community."
Call centers offer help
The repository offers a 24-hour call center operated 365 days a year in addition to:
• referral service for advance directives forms and assistance;
• verification of completed forms for all required signatures and contact information;
• physician and health care agent notification at enrollment and during medical events;
• family notification service;
• safe storage and transmission of advance directives regardless of health care setting.
Interested individuals can contact the MedicAlert Foundation. For more information, call toll-free at (888) 904-7630. Web site: www.medicalert.org.
Web site helps families with advance care planning
A new Internet-based community and resource network was unveiled in late August to help families and health care providers with advance care planning.
Tools for decision making
Jasperon, a Rowayton, CT-based company, developed the service at no cost to users with input from a multidisciplinary coalition of experts from various organizations. Individuals who access the site (www.jasperon.com) can complete and immediately store advance medical directives. The site offers education, guidance from experts, and interactive tools to help with communication and decision making.
"As medical advancements outpace discussion of quality of life issues, it has become increasingly important for all of us to address end-of-life health care," says Robert L. Mitchell, MD, co-founder of Jasperon.
The site includes four key components:
• an education center providing information and advice needed for the advance care planning process;
• a communication center to help individuals initiate and maintain communication with their families, caregivers, physicians, hospices, hospitals, and clergy;
• a document preparation tool informing visitors about available legal documents through context-based learning and questionnaires that guide the process for filling out, printing, signing, and storing legal documents approved for use in all 50 states;
• a document management service that enables individuals to keep their advance directives current and retrieve them later via the Internet and/or fax.
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content