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COMMENTS AND OPINIONS
Life Prolonging in Name Only?—Reply
Holly G. Prigerson, PhD;
Alexi A. Wright, MD;
Paul K. Maciejewski, PhD;
Susan D. Block, PhD
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In reply
We believe that Dr Workman makes an important point in highlighting the significance of language in clinical communications, particularly those occurring at the end of life. Like Pantilat,1 we agree that the choice of words used to describe treatments matters. Word selection may strongly influence the medical choices that patients and their physicians make. Patients who decline "life-sustaining" medical care may believe that they are opting for death, while family members who agree to "withdraw care" may feel that their decision caused the death of a loved one, instead of the disease. The terms used to describe treatments may create unnecessary ethical and psychological conflicts for patients and their family members.
For this reason, we prefer to avoid value-laden descriptors of medical care in favor of accurate labels that are value neutral. . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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ABSTRACT
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RELATED LETTER
Life Prolonging in Name Only?
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Arch Intern Med. 2009;169(16):1540.
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