TL;DRAbstract
Because of the importance of food as an integral part of life, health-care providers need to be well versed in the issues surrounding nutrition and hydration in terminal illness in order to assist patients and their families in treatment decisions. Case law in the United States considers enteral nutrition to be medical treatment and as such recognizes a patient’s right to refuse artificial nutritional support. The decision about feeding should be consistent with the overall goals of care: for example, curative treatment, rehabilitative treatment or palliative treatment.
Chat with Paper
AI Agents for this Paper
Because of the importance of food as an integral part of life, health-care providers need to be well versed in the issues surrounding nutrition and hydration in terminal illness in order to assist patients and their families in treatment decisions. Case law in the United States considers enteral nutrition to be medical treatment and as such recognizes a patient’s right to refuse artificial nutritional support. The decision about feeding should be consistent with the overall goals of care: for example, curative treatment, rehabilitative treatment or palliative treatment.
Keywords
Chat
Click to start Chat