Edited by John D. Arras. 259 pp. Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1995. $40. ISBN 0-8018-4990-X.
Recently I was in a patient's hospital room, discussing herpossible discharge to home. The patient had been very sick,had a gastrostomy tube, required dialysis, and had seizurescomplicating multi-infarct dementia. The family was not united.Her elderly husband wanted to care for her at home, enlistingtheir children to manage the feedings and transport her to dialysis.The children were reluctant to provide personal care and wereintimidated by the tube. I felt under pressure to dischargethis patient. She had stayed in the hospital beyond the timeallotted for her diagnosis-related group, and I was inclinedto . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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