Think back to the initial Youtube Video published in the first blog. Although this was an exaggeration, those of us who have worked in a critical care setting know that some of what was depicted is not that far from the truth.
Today, while at work and caring for a very critically ill patient post open heart surgery, I found myself wondering what are the costs of the care we are providing and will this patient be able to survive this?
What is the cost of hope? Modern medicine has become so proficient at keeping the terminally ill alive that the inevitable process of dying is prolonged (cbsnews, 2010). It has been estimated that one third or out overall healthcare resources are spent in the last year of life (Harding, 2010). Medicare paid $55 billion dollars for the last two months of patient's lives. This accounts for more that the entire budget for Homeland Security. Furthermore 20-30% of these expenses have no meaningful impact (cbsnews, 2010).
Are we saving individuals with improved medical technology or are we preventing individual from dying a natural death?
Ask yourself, what is worse: having a loved one die or having a loved one die badly? It is well documented that most individuals would prefer to die at home. The reality is that 75% die in with hospitals or nursing homes (cbsnews, 2010). And remember back to our first video the Hospitalist vs the ICU end of Life Palliative Care: once a patient is admitted into the hospital, several consults and physicians order a multitude of tests in which many are not essential.
Communication and explanations are necessary to clearly identify a patient's wish for end of life care and potentially reduce the costs of dying or better termed the costs of hope.
Think of the savings, both money and quality associated with dying, that could be obtained if open conversations could take place to clearly identify individuals' wishes.
References
Harding, A., 2010. End-of-life care costs continue to climb upward. Retrieved from http://www.teuters.com/assets/print?aid=USTRE69C3KY20101014
The Cost of Dying: End-of-Life Care. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.cbsnews/2102-18560-6747002.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody
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