Approaching Death

"Approaching Death reflects a wide-ranging effort to understand what we know about care at the end of life, what we have yet to learn, and what we know but do not adequately apply. It seeks to build understanding of what constitutes good care for the dying and offers recommendations to decisionmakers that address specific barriers to achieving good care." "This volume presents a profile of when, where, and how Americans die. It examines the dimensions of caring at the end of life: determining diagnosis and prognosis and communicating these to patient and family, establishing clinical and personal goals, and matching physical, psychological, spiritual, and practical care strategies to the patient's values and circumstances."--BOOK JACKET.