Less medicine, better care

Thought provoking article at Zocalo Public Square by Ken Murray a family practice doctor who writes that he was so frustrated with futile end-of-life care he suspended his hospital practice.

Of course, doctors don’t want to die; they want to live. But they know enough about modern medicine to know its limits. And they know enough about death to know what all people fear most: dying in pain, and dying alone.

The essay feels right but relies on anecdote rather than data to support the central premise that doctors are more likely to to use hospice and palliative care to have gentler passing.