labyrinthworld

Our entire medical system is designed for heroics. Its raison d’être is to stop death at any cost. The problem is death eventually comes to us all. While for the young and the healthy aggressive medicine makes sense, this is not necessarily true for the elderly. For them, treatment may offer high risks and limited rewards, resulting in diminished quality of life.

The NYT reports on a movement  called “Slow medicine” that is a response to this type of medicine. Slow medicine is designed to encourage the elderly to think through the costs/benefits of medical action.  Its goal is comfort not cure. The truth is for the elderly many procedures that may make sense for those younger, might carry side effects that diminish their quality of life, and may even hasten their end.

Kendal at Hanover is a retirement community that is affiliated with Dartmouth Medical School. It has become a laboratory for the slow medicine movement. Patients at Kendal may refuse hospitalization, tests, surgery or medication. They are encouraged to take their time and weigh the options before making a decision.  The truth is many illnesses are the result of the decline that is necessarily a part of aging. Some illnesses will inevitably lead to death. Unnecessary heroics only prolong the dying and not the living.