Justifying the Information on Hospice Care that octors should provide to Terminally Ill Patients

Abstract

This article identifies the two key functions that doctors should perform prior to accepting erminally ill patients’ requests for hospice care. In the first place, doctors caring for terminally ill atients should inform relevant family members of the patient’s condition, provide patients and family members with information on hospice care, and offer patients an opportunity to choose to receive hospice care or not. Secondly, doctors should consult with other medical professionals concerning patients’ choices and, when appropriate, provide hospice care needs for terminal patients and their families. In order to perform these two functions effectively, doctors caring for terminally ill patients should be provided with due information on hospice care. This article reviews the relevant moral justifications for providing hospice care and argues that it not only satisfies both medical and ethical objectives but is also in terminal patients’ best interests.