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Improving care at the end of life: How advance care planning can help

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2005

JOHN C. MOSKOP
JOHN C. MOSKOP
Affiliation:
Department of Medical Humanities, The Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina
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Abstract

Based on a comparison of studies of patient desires regarding end-of-life care and of the actual course of end-of-life care, this article concludes that there is a significant discrepancy in the United States between the kind of care most people want and the kind of care they in fact receive. The article offers a case example to illustrate one type of dilemma commonly encountered in end-of-life care. It then introduces and describes the practice of advance care planning. Use of advance care planning, it is argued, can prevent moral dilemmas and improve end-of-life care.

Keywords

Advance care planningAdvance directivesDeath and dyingEnd-of-life careMoral dilemmas
Type
REVIEW ARTICLES
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 2 , Issue 2 , June 2004 , pp. 191 - 197
Copyright
© 2004 Cambridge University Press

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