Is a good death now a medical death?

The development of palliative care began in the 1950s, when concerns were voiced over the apparent neglect of dying people. Research, a greater openness about terminal conditions, and a more active approach to the care of the dying person have all developed since then. The term "palliative care," first proposed in 1974, came to symbolise this broadening orientation. Yet the charge of creeping medicalisation has, considers David Clark (p 905), now been levelled at palliative care. All doctors now face the problem of balancing technical intervention with a humanistic orientation to their dying patients.

(Credit: SPL)

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Between hope and acceptance: the medicalisation of dying

David Clark
BMJ 2002 324: 905-907. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]