Atul Gawande notes how scientific advances have turned the process of aging and dying into medical experiences, managed by a gaggle of health care professionals. Death equates to a failure of medical care, rather than an inevitability of the human journey...
[The patient] filled out the requisite papers - power of attorney and DNR. These turned out to be 'expensive and flimsy amulets' - when dementia took away his intellect and right to self-determination. An age-old faith in institutional medicine and its practitioners was not rewarded with the support the [family] needed.
- Hector Baillie MD
'Being Mortal' by Atul Gawande
'Knocking on Heaven's Door' by Katy Butler
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