The end-of-life process will never be easy, but a new study suggests that the experience could be better for patients and their loved ones.
There are many facets of end-of-life care that need to be improved, according to a report from the Institute of Medicine released on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The 507-page study titled "Dying in America" calls for opening the dialogue about end-of-life preparations and starting it earlier in life.
The study was inspired by debates about so-called "death panels" that erupted before the Affordable Care Act was passed in 2010, according to Reuters. The term refers to the reimbursement physicians would have received for speaking about end-of-life preparations with patients, which was most loudly vocalized by former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin.
Some of the recommendations of the 21-person committee include giving end-of-life patients palliative care, stronger communication between the patients, loved ones and physicians, better education and training of professionals in end-of-life care and improvements in financing. Improving end-of-life programs in the U.S. could lower health care spending, which reached $2.8 trillion in 2012, according to the study.
The Institute of Medicine hopes that talking about end-of-life care becomes normal in our society. The committee envisions a new "life-cycle model of advance care planning" in which patients discuss their end-of-life plans regularly with their primary physicians and then at times of being diagnosed with chronic or genetic diseases, The Washington Post reported.
Death is just one of those subjects that Americans, understandably, don't like to talk about. More than a quarter of adults have given little or no thought to their end-of-life care, according to the Pew Research Center. However, this report argues that the lack of conversation about end-of-life preparations could be detrimental to society, especially with the population rapidly becoming older and more culturally diverse and the health care system becoming increasingly burdened.
"At a time when public leaders hesitate to speak on a subject that is profoundly consequential for the health and well-being of all Americans, it is incumbent on others to examine the facts dispassionately, assess what can be done to make those final days better, and promote a reasoned and respectful public discourse on the subject," wrote Dr. Victor Dzau and Dr. Harvey Fineberg, the current and former presidents of the Institute of Medicine, respectively.
