[quote=ucsf_med]
Physicians aren’t the only ones complicit in the quest to stop death at all costs, the family at the bedside and ever present lawyer-threat are drivers pushing the physician to do just a little more.

The article citing costs spent in the last several months of life is quite telling. However, it is in retrospect as you don’t know it is someone’s last few months of life until they actually die. It’s hard to cut off the last month of spending when you don’t know when the last month of life is.[/quote]

Doc’s are most certainly not the only ones involved here. I would go so far as to say that in my experience they are usually the least responsible for the issue at hand. It is their job to dispense medical care and advice on that care. They (usually) are unsurpassed at this point in history compared to any other when it comes to dispensing medical care. I feel that the breakdown comes when they have to dispense advice about that care. In my ,self admitted little experience( I have 4 friends in med school or docs and a few family members who have died), the problem is that patients are looking for a cure and doctors are prescribing a treatment. We as a society need to realize the difference and learn how to judge the value of a short term treatment versus its cost.