Patient-Centered Approach to Medicine for the Terminally-Ill

By Irene S. Switankowsky

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.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0761853383
• ISBN13: 9780761853381
• Release Date: December 2011
• Publisher: University Press of America
• Length: 94 Pages
• Weight: 0.34 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"