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Previous Volume 346:1087-1089 April 4, 2002 Number 14 Next

	Since this article has no abstract, we have provided an extract of the first 100 words of the full text and any section headings.

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In 2001, 50 percent of deaths of Medicare beneficiaries occurred in hospitals, often after stays in intensive care units, visits to multiple physicians in the months before death, and enormous expenditures for treatments intended to prolong life.¹ Many argue that it is ethical to provide marginally effective treatments if sick patients want them, regardless of the resulting quality of life. However, this approach entails substantial trade-offs² — expensive procedures are reimbursed under Medicare, whereas prescription medications, nursing home care, and home care services are not. We have done little to address these trade-offs in the United States, since a long . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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Treatment Preferences of Seriously Ill Patients
Batavia A. I., Halstead L. S., Fine R. L., Shepard M. A., Adair R., Fried T. R., Bradley E. H.
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N Engl J Med 2002; 347:533-535, Aug 15, 2002. Correspondence

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