Uncertain Prognosis

The following Web sites include models for advance directives.

• Five Wishes: www.agingwithdignity.org
• Individual decisions: www.newgrangepress.com
• Respecting choices at end of life: www.gundersenlutheran.com/eolprograms
• Physician orders for life-sustaining treatment: www.polst.org

References

1. Auerbach AD, Pantilat SZ. End-of-Life care in a voluntary hospitalist model: effects on communication, processes of care, and patient symptoms. Am J Med. 2004 May 15;116(10):669-675.
2. Plauth WH, Pantilat SZ, Wachter RM, et al. Hospitalists’ perceptions of their residency training needs: result of a national survey. Am J Med. 2001;111(3):247-254.
3. Lo B, Quill TE, Tulsky J. Discussing palliative care with patients. ACP–ASIM End-of-Life Care Consensus Panel. American College of Physicians–American Society of Internal Medicine. Ann Intern Med. 1999 May 4;130(9):744-749.
4. Quill TE. Initiating end-of-life discussions with seriously ill patients: addressing the “elephant in the room.” JAMA. 2000 Nov 15;284(19):2502-2507.
5. Kaufman SR. And a Time to Die: How American Hospitals Shape the End of Life. New York: Scribner; 2005.
6. Kaufman SR. A commentary: hospital experience and meaning at the end of life. Gerontologist. 2002 Oct;42 Spec No. 3:34-39.
7. Pantilat SZ. End-of-life care for the hospitalized patient. Med Clin North Am. 2002 Jul;86(4):749-770.
8. Tulsky JA. Beyond advance directives: importance of communication skills at the end of life. JAMA. 2005 Jul 20;294(3):359-365.
9. Heyland DK, Dodek P, Rocker G, et al. What matters most in end-of-life care: perceptions of seriously ill patients and their family members. CMAJ. 2006 Feb 28;174(5):627-633.
10. Barbato M. Caring for the dying: the doctor as healer. MJAust. 2003 May 19;178(10):508-509.
11. Fallowfield LJ, Jenkins VA, Beveridge HA. Truth may hurt but deceit hurts more: communication in palliative care. Palliat Med. 2002 Jul;16(4):297-303.
12. Fins JJ, Miller FG, Acres CA, et al. End-of-life decision-making in the hospital: current practice and future prospects. J Pain Symptom Manage. 1999 Jan;17(1):6-15.
13. Kalish RA. Death, grief and caring relationships. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole; 1985.
14. Lynn J, Schuster JL, Kabcenell A. Improving Care for the End of Life: A Sourcebook for Health Care Managers and Clinicians. New York: Oxford University Press; 2000.
15. Lamont EB. A demographic and prognostic approach to defining the end of life. J Palliat Med. 2005;8 Suppl 1:S12-21.
16. Christakis NA. Death Foretold: Prophecy and Prognosis in Medical Care. Chicago: University of Chicago Press; 2001.
17. Christakis NA, Lamont EB. Extent and determinants of error in doctors’ prognoses in terminally ill patients: prospective cohort study. BMJ. 2000 Feb;320(7233):469-472.
18. Lamont EB, Christakis NA. Prognostic disclosure to patients with cancer near the end of life. Ann Intern Med. 2001 Jun 19; 134 (12):1096-1105.
19. Lamont EB, Siegler M. Paradoxes in cancer patients’ advance care planning. J Palliat Med. 2000 Spring;3(1):27-35.
20. Fried TR, Byers AL, Gallo WT, et al. Prospective study of health status preferences and changes in preferences over time in older adults. Arch Intern Med. 2006 Apr 24;166(8):890-895.
21. McPhee SJ, Rabow MW, Pantilat SZ, et al. Finding our way–perspectives on care at the close of life. JAMA. 2000 Nov 15;284(19):2512-2513.
22. Solie D. How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap with Our Elders. New York: Prentice Hall Press; 2004.
23. Jennings B, Kaebnick GE, Murray TH. Improving End of Life Care: Why Has It Been So Difficult? Hastings Center Special Report. 2005;35.