Main description:

In the tradition of Atul Gwande's Being Mortal, this compassionate work helps individuals develop a more accepting view of dying while teaching them what to expect and how to navigate the healthcare system at end of life.

The health care system has a narrow view of how to care for patients in elderhood. That view focuses on extending life with machines and procedures, not caring holistically for the patient. As such, patients will likely spend the last years of their lives in long-term care facilities and their final weeks in an ICU. Our fear of death contributes to this model for health. Dying at home, peacefully, and surrounded by family is almost impossible in our world.

Fittingly, the central idea of this book is that in old age, or when facing a terminal diagnosis, it is more important to understand your life rather than to extend it. While this may seem simple, its implications are profound.

A natural death means accepting that, at some point, we are old enough or sick enough to die without trying to interrupt that natural process beyond being kept comfortable. In our cynical and overly clinical age, it is difficult to reflect on the meaning of one's life, but that kind of honest introspection is exactly what we need. Accordingly, The Journey's End seeks to help people manage their healthcare, their expectations, and their decisions in the final phase of life.

Contents:

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments:

Forward By Professor David B. Nash, MD, MBA

Introduction:

Chapter 1: Preparing for the Last Phase of Life

Chapter 2: Agony: the Default Option

Chapter 3: The Fiction of Living Forever

Chapter 4: The Art and Science of Medicine

Chapter 5: The Economics and Ethics of Dying

Chapter 6: The Physicians' Burden

Chapter 7: Patient Autonomy - A Double-Edged Sword

Chapter 8: Who's Afraid of the Big GR?

Chapter 9: Disappearing

Chapter 10: Options for End-of-Life Care

Chapter 11: Preparing the Paperwork for Elderhood

Chapter 12: Understanding the FFS Payment System

Chapter 13: Fixing Primary Care Physicians Payments

Chapter 14: Making Comfort Care More Accessible

Chapter 15: Funding Options for End-of-Life Care

Chapter 16: Reinstituting the Role of Care Coordination

And Creating A Home for End-of-Life Conversations

Chapter 17: Accepting Life's Limits

Chapter 18: The Importance of Trade-Offs.

Chapter 19: Concluding Observations

Appendix: Summary Recommendations