The Ideal vs Reality: Is the Pursuit of a “Good Death” Hindering End-of-Life Care?

November 11, 2024
JAMDA

Advancements in modern medicine have extended lifespans and resulted in many seriously ill individuals receiving intensive, often futile and low-value care. This has transformed the dying experience, with most people dying in hospitals and incurring high costs at the end of life.1-3 The Lancet Commission on Value of Death reaffirmed death as a natural and inevitable process, sparking conversations about what constitutes a good death.4