End-of-Life Care in Medical Textbooks
Authors: Annette T. Carron
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (1999)

Medical Writings5 January 1999End-of-Life Care in Medical TextbooksAnnette T. Carron, DO, Joanne Lynn, MD, and Patrick Keaney, BSAnnette T. Carron, DO, Joanne Lynn, MD, and Patrick Keaney, BSAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-130-1-199901050-00037 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail Improvement in end-of-life care has become a demand of the public and a priority for health care professionals. Medical textbooks could support this improvement by functioning as educational resources and as reference material. In this paper, four widely used general medical textbooks are assessed for their coverage of nine content domains for 12 illnesses that often cause death; each domain in each disease and in each text was graded for presence and helpfulness of advice. Helpful information was rare, and only prognostication and medical treatments to alter the course of the disease were usually mentioned. Harrison's Textbook of Medicine, TheMerck ...References1. Foley KM. Competent care for the dying instead of physician-assisted suicide [Editorial]. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:54-8. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. Angell M. The Supreme Court and physician-assisted suicide—the ultimate right [Editorial]. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:50-3. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. A controlled trial to improve care for seriously ill hospitalized patients. The Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatments (SUPPORT). The SUPPORT Principal Investigators. JAMA. 1995; 274:1591-8. Google Scholar4. Lynn J, Teno JM, Phillips RS, Wu AW, Desbiens N, Harrold J, et al. Perceptions by family members of the dying experience of older and seriously ill patients. SUPPORT Investigators. 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MedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: Corresponding Author: Joanne Lynn, MD, Center to Improve Care of the Dying, George Washington University, 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 820, Washington, DC 20037.Current Author Addresses: Dr. Carron: Beaumont Hospice, 811 South Boulevard, Suite 220, Rochester Hills, MI 48307.Dr. Lynn: Center to Improve Care of the Dying, George Washington University, 2175 K Street, NW, Suite 820, Washington, DC 20037.Mr. Keaney: 1003 West 42nd Street, Richmond, VA 23225-4607.Acknowledgments: The authors thank Abigail Orenstein and Cheryl Collins for their assistance in coding data; Robert Butler, MD, for encouragement and advice; and Joel Smith for assistance in preparing the manuscript.Grant Support: By a grant from the Open Society Institute, Project on Death in America. 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