Palliative Care; Importance of End-of-Life Discussions

Medical research has shown that palliative care can improve quality of life and extend life for patients with serious illness, but insurance coverage for the discussions that lead to such care (which opponents termed, "death panels") was dropped from President Barack Obama's healthcare proposal. Joining the discussion about hospice and palliative medicine research: American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine president Dr. Sean Morrison, M.D., and Harvard Palliative Medicine fellowship director Dr. Vicki Jackson, M.D. Later in the show, author and blogger Phyllis Greene and D.G. Fulford discuss their personal experience with end of life discussions/decision-making.