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Over the last decades, technology and scientific advances, the acknowledgment
of new rights, social changes, and the use of patient advocacy have influenced
the medical approach to management of patients with advanced disease, particularly
those who are near death. Ethical and legal considerations in decision-making
and application of care must be addressed in this process. The need to address
ethical concerns while striving to match technical aspects of care with more
humanistic aspects is fundamental in palliative medicine. Its philosophy is
global, multidimensional and centered on the patient and family.
The Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center
supports this multifaceted approach. Much attention is given to end-of-life
issues and related ethical dilemmas. This section presents some of the difficult
ethical and legal issues that patients, families and health care providers face
in palliative care. Each aspect is discussed briefly. For more information,
please consult the reference section.
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