Improving Care at the End of Life

Arch Intern Med -- Improving Care at the End of Life, April 11, 2011, Grudzen and Grady 0 (2011): archinternmed.2011.132v1: It is widely assumed that more medical care (ie, more tests and procedures) results in better outcomes and that adequately treating pain and other symptoms brings death closer, but there is mounting evidence to suggest otherwise. In addition to the risk of harm that is inherent in all tests and procedures and the discomfort associated with much end-of-life care, new evidence suggests that treating patients' pain and other symptoms is associated with improvements in physical status and may even lengthen survival.

Related: Honoring patients' wishes for less care

At the end of life, sometimes less is more