Others refuse to prescribe strong narcotics in dosages which are sufficient to relieve the pain. Hospice philosophy believes in relieving the pain, and condemns those physicians who choose to abandon their patient to his or her suffering without trying their best to relieve that pain. Some physicians believe in ordering gradually increasing dosages of pain medications until a sufficiently strong and effective dosage is reached. Those physicians who unilaterally choose to overdose their patients are as much to blame as those physicians who under medicate their patients' pain. What should be clearly understood by all patients and families is that there are definite standards of practice about how to treat pain, how to increase dosages, what medications to use, when to begin new medications if previous medications have been ineffective, and so on.
Medical science is very capable of relieving pain in the terminally ill.
In so many cases, the terrible suffering is unnecessary. Death does not have to be painful. Good hospice care under the direction of a competent physician who knows how to treat pain will effectively relieve the pain in most patients. Sometimes palliative use of chemotherapy or radiation may be necessary. Sometimes surgery may need to be done for pain relief.