Slow medicine

The New York Times published an article today about "slow medicine," an approach that advocates less aggressive care at end-of-life.

Slow medicine ultimately advocates giving patients a greater voice in what treatments they pursue, or even decline, at end-of-life. But as some of those interviewed and the article and some commenters pointed out, contemporary medicine does not build in a lot of time for heart-to-heart discussions between patients and physicians. The typical default is to take medical action, even drastic action, first and ask questions later. The assumption is that a physician should always pursue every medical avenue for every patient. But this slow medicine movement points to the value of seeking the patient's perspective. Even if it means slowing down to do it.

You can find the article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/05/health/05slow.html?ex=1367726400&en=1b4e1a08fd8b7247&ei=5124&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink