The best care possible : a physician's quest to transform care through the end of life
(Book)

Includes bibliographical references and index.

A palliative care doctor on the front lines of hospital care illuminates one of the most important and controversial ethical issues of our time on his quest to transform care through the end of life. It is harder to die in this country than ever before. Statistics show that the vast majority of Americans would prefer to die at home, yet many of us spend our last days fearful and in pain in a healthcare system ruled by high-tech procedures and a philosophy to 'fight disease and illness at all cost.' Dr. Ira Byock, one of the foremost palliative-care physicians in the country, argues that end-of-life care is among the biggest national crises facing us today... The Best Care Possible is a compelling meditation on medicine and ethics told through page-turning, life or death medical drama... --Publisher.