A new analysis of Medicare claims by researchers at Dartmouth University found that nationwide nearly one in three cancer patients died in hospitals or in intensive care, the most expensive form of end-of-life care and contrary to most patients’ wishes. Nearly half are not offered hospice care, while one in 11 received life-extending treatments like tube feeding.
There were also huge variations in end-of-life treatment. More than 40 percent of dying patients were put in a hospital’s intensive care unit in the last month of life in cities like Los Angeles, Miami, Huntsville, Alabama, and McAllen, Texas, while less than 15 percent of terminal cancer patients had that as part of their final experience in cities like Minneapolis, Madison, Wisconsin, and Portland, Maine.
Letting Go: What should medicine do when it can’t save your life?
Atul Gawande is one of the most informed and incredible writers we are lucky to have in modern-day America. He has a way with words that I wish I had. His article about end-of-life care is absolutely amazing and should be required reading for anyone that wants to have a discussion about healthcare reform. Mr. Gawande's article puts into perspective the problems mentioned in the article above. I won't try to quote pieces of his article here because it can't be quoted; it must be read in its entirety.
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