Foreword to Stanley A. Terman, Peaceful Transitions: An Ironclad Strategy to Die How and When You Want
Life Transitions, 2011
2 Pages Posted: 27 Feb 2012
Date Written: January 1, 2011
Abstract
Every twelve seconds, someone dies in the United States. Most of these deaths results from a collaborative, consensus decision to withdraw or to withhold life-sustaining medical treatment. Unfortunately, existing policies for making such life-determining decisions is increasingly at variance with Americans’ health care needs. In the absence of instructions to the contrary, the standard approach to end-of-life treatment is to provide aggressive medical treatment – even when such treatment has virtually no chance of achieving a cure or even partially reversing the disease process. Such overtreatment may paradoxically shorten life as it inflicts tremendous suffering on all concerned. This is not the way that most of us want to die. To avoid such a fate, we must affirmatively 'opt out' of the technological imperative. Opting out is not difficult if we still have the mental capacity to make our own health care decisions. But few of us will have such capacity as we near the end of our lives. Dr. Terman has developed a unique Advance Care Planning (ACP) tool that offers substantial advantages over all alternatives. This book provides clear, practical directions to prepare your Natural Dying Advance Directive/Natural Dying Physician’s Orders (NDAD/NDPO).
Keywords: advance care planning, ACP, natural dying advance directive, natural dying physician’s orders, NDAD, NDPO, death, dying, Alzheimer’s, dementia
JEL Classification: K32
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation