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Patient and physician roles in end-of-life decision making

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Abstract

This study is a cross-sectional descriptive survey of randomly selected primary care patients and physicians regarding patient, physician, and family roles in end-of-life decision making. The subjects included 329 adult outpatients and 272 practicing physicians. Physicians were more likely than patients to believe the patient alone was responsible for making end-of-life decisions. Patients were more likely than physicians to believe the physician should provide a recommendation in addition to facts to help the patient make end-of-life decisions. We conclude that patients prefer a more active role for physicians in both decision making and discussion of end-of-life care than do physicians themselves.

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A complete list of the participants in the End-of-Life Study Group appears at the end of this article.

Supported in part by grants from the Public Health Service, Bureau of Health Professions (5 D28 PE 54005-08), The Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa., The Moses Cone Hospital in Greensboro, NC, and The University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.

The End-of-Life Study Group is based at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. The members are fellows and faculty who participated in the 1990–1992 cohort of the General Internal Medicine Faculty Development Fellowship: Harold M. Adelman, MD, and Paul M. Wallach, MD, University of South Florida, Tampa; Sarah C. Johnston, MD, University of Kansas at Wichita; Rita Layson, MD, University of North Carolina-Greensboro; Robert McNutt, MD, University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee; Mark P. Pfeifer, MD, University of Louisville, Ky.; Jaan E. Sidorov, MD, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pa; Arthur Evans, MD, MPH, and Miriam B. Settle, PhD, University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

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Johnston, S.C., Pfeifer, M.P. & the End-of-Life Study Group. Patient and physician roles in end-of-life decision making. J GEN INTERN MED 13, 43–45 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.1998.00008.x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1525-1497.1998.00008.x

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