Skip Navigation
Menu
Letters |1 April 1997

Whose Death Is It, Anyway

Charles R. Routh, MD

Article, Author, and Disclosure Information
Author, Article, and Disclosure Information
  • Muncie Internal Medicine, Muncie, IN 47303-4774
×
FULL TEXT
TO THE EDITOR:
I enjoyed the essay by Hansot [1] and the related article by Gilligan and Raffin [2]. However, I believe it is misleading to imply that had the patient, family, and physician known that the patient had a living will, this nightmare would have been avoided.
Most living wills go into effect only if the patient has a “terminal illness.” Therein lies the rub. What is a terminal illness? What about an 87-year-old man who is slightly hypokalemic and fibrillates within hours of his first inferior myocardial infarction? Is this a terminal illness for which we invoke...
FULL TEXT
PDF
Not Available
Citations
Citation

Routh CR. Whose Death Is It, Anyway. Ann Intern Med. 1997;126:586. doi: https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-126-7-199704010-00021

Download citation file:

© 2020

×
Permissions

Published: Ann Intern Med. 1997;126(7):586.

DOI: 10.7326/0003-4819-126-7-199704010-00021

0 Citations
CONTINUE WITH LIMITED ACCESS
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
acp link acp
silverchair link silverchair

Copyright © 2020 American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.

Print ISSN: 0003-4819 | Online ISSN: 1539-3704

Privacy Policy

|

Conditions of Use

This site uses cookies. By continuing to use our website, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. | Accept
×

You need a subscription to this content to use this feature.

×
PDF Downloads Require Access to the Full Article.
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×
Access to this Free Content Requires Users to be Registered and Logged In. Please Choose One of the Following Options
Annals of Internal Medicine
To receive access to the full text of freely available articles, alerts, and more. You will be directed to acponline.org to complete your registration.
×