Ethics in Palliative Care: A Complete Guide

No specialty faces more diverse and challenging ethical dilemmas than palliative medicine. What is the best way to plan ahead for the end of life? How should physicians respond when patients refuse treatments likely to be beneficial, or demand treatments not likely to be? Who makes medical decisions for patients who are too ill to decide for themselves? Do patients have the "right to die" (and, if so, what exactly does that mean)? In this volume noted palliative care physician and bioethicist Robert C. Macauley addresses a broad range of issues from historical, legal, clinical, and ethical perspectives. Clinically nuanced and philosophically rigorous, Ethics in Palliative Care analyzes hot-button subjects like physician assisted dying and euthanasia, as well as often overlooked topics such as pediatric palliative care, organ donation, palliative care research, and moral distress. Drawing on real cases yet written in non-technical language, this complete guide will appeal to both medical professionals and lay readers.

About the Author

Robert Macauley is the Cambia Health Foundation Endowed Professor of Palliative Care at Oregon Health and Science University. He taught at the University of Vermont College of Medicine for fifteen years, where he directed the Department of Clinical Ethics as well as the Pediatric Advanced Care Team.