The dilemmas related to palliative care have become more common in the face of advances in science and medical technology. Health care providers now have the means to prolong life and in some cases prolong the dying process. This article is the extension of the article series of the ethical framework on palliative care. Time-limited trial A “time-limited trial” is a utilitarian approach to addressing ethical conflicts.
It is a way of moving forward when parties disagree over whether a treatment is going to be beneficial or not or when a clinician’s concerns about futility conflict with a surrogate’s obligation to preserve life. Pain management at the end of life One of the major concerns of patients facing a terminal illness is that pain will go untreated or poorly treated. Effective pain control is usually achieved through the use of opioids, which may if titrated aggressively, hasten…
