A Commentary

Abstract

Most people cannot control the exact circumstances of their dying—when they die, where they die, how they die, how people treat them when they are dying, and so forth. They cannot be sure that they will die in "a sanctuary imbued with one's own order" (Kayser-Jones 2001, p. 3). This is particularly true in the days ahead as limits on health care expenditures become more and more constraining. The fact is that doctors and nurses will be responsible for more and more patients and have less and less time with each patient. This trend is inevitable when one considers the future costs of financing health care and the changing U.S. population demographics up ahead.