Word: die
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Dates: during 2000-2000
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Since 1975, when Karen Ann Quinlan's father went to the New Jersey courts to get her respirator turned off, the debate over dying in America has focused on a narrow question: Is there a right to die? But that struggle, so agonizing and dramatic, overshadows practical questions that will prove more important for most of us: How will we die, and can we die more comfortably...
...propitious moment for reform. Those who bore the baby boomers are nearing their end. Like everything else they have come across and disliked, boomers are taking note of the ways in which their parents are dying--and trying to do something about it. The growing movement to improve the way we die is the subject of the special report that follows and a separate documentary, created by Bill and Judith Moyers, airing this week on PBS. (See story on page 74.) These are the stories of people who have managed to die more comfortably, who have demanded better care from...
Another shortcoming of hospice is that not everyone can afford or wants to die at home. (Although a few hospitals have inpatient hospices and 30% of nursing homes now contract with hospice companies, 90% of hospice patients live at home.) Gans, the retired psychologist who lives alone in a Manhattan high-rise, is worried that she will need medical care at night. More generally, African Americans, Russian immigrants and others who have had less access to health care fear that doctors who recommend hospice are trying to get rid of them. "All people want to die with dignity...
Designing a health-care system that would take into account every unique death would be impossible. But reformers say there are a few things the U.S. could do to improve how most of us die. First, insurance companies could reimburse more kinds of palliative care, which is cheaper than attempting a cure. "Insurance will routinely cover expensive chemo with a 5% chance of success but may not cover opioids for pain relief," says Foley, the pain specialist. "We are talking about a redistribution of money that we already spend." When Dr. Shaiova was caring for Cummins, she spent an hour...
...patients a form stating their preferences on resuscitation, tube feedings and so on. That state has also benefited from two referendum campaigns on assisted suicide, which taught voters a great deal about the current shortcomings of end-of-life care. Today only about a third of Oregon residents die in institutions, in contrast to the 75% national average. As a state, Oregon spends the lowest amount on inpatient care in the final six months of life...