Patient-Centered Approach to Medicine for the Terminally-Ill - Paperback

by Irene S. Switankowsky (Author)

Given our aging population, there will sadly be an increasing number of terminally-ill patients over the next ten to twenty years. A Patient-Centered Approach to Medicine for the Terminally-Ill explains that a more humane patient-centered approach is necessary to ensure that terminally-ill patients are cared for effectively at the end of life. It is a well-known fact that terminally-ill patients are very difficult to care for by their physicians and other medical specialists, and paternalism is no longer a viable way of caring for the terminally-ill.

In this book, Switankowsky argues that there are five conditions for physicians to bring about patient-centered medicine. These are: effective physician-patient disclosure of treatments, successful decision-making, effective communication, development of effective physician-patient relationships, and advance directives. By following these five necessary conditions, physicians could ensure that all terminally-ill patients die with some degree of dignity and are given essential, humane care until the end of their days.

Author Biography

Irene S. Switankowsky is a review editor for Humane Medicine International. This is her second medical ethics book; her first, A New Paradigm for Informed Consent, was published in 1998.