Treat them into the grave

Cancer Physicians' Attitudes Towards the Use of High-Cost Cancer Medicines at the End of Life

Datos Bibliográficos

ID2249482
AutoresMiriam Wiersma (0000-0003-3739-3090, Sydney Health Ethics The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia, autor de correspondencia), Narcyz Ghinea (0000-0002-1457-7252, Sydney Health Ethics The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia), Ian Kerridge (0000-0001-7445-4660, Sydney Health Ethics The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia), Wendy Lipworth (0000-0002-0234-657X, Sydney Health Ethics The University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia)
Año2019
Volumen41
Número2
Páginas343-359
Fecha de publicación2019-02-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSociology of Health & Illness (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0141-9889 • E-ISSN: 1467-9566
EditorialWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1467-9566.12830
PMID30460710
OpenAlexW2900754189
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas9
Referencias citadas56

The prescribing of high-cost cancer medicines at the end of life has become a focus of criticism, due primarily to concerns about the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these medicines in this clinical context. In response to these concerns, a number of interventions have been proposed - frequently focused on improving physician-patient communication at the end of life. Underpinning these strategies is the assumption that the prescribing of high-cost cancer medicines at the end of life is primarily the result of poor communication on the part of cancer physicians. In this paper, we explore the factors perceived by cancer physicians to be driving the use of high-cost cancer medicines at the end of life. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 16 Australian oncologists and haematologists, we demonstrate that these physicians believe that the use of high-cost medicines at the end of life is driven by multiple factors - including individual, interpersonal, socio-cultural and public policy influences. We conclude that these factors, and their interactions, need to be taken into account in the development of public policy and clinical interventions to address the use of high-cost medicines at the end of life

Access to medicines · Cancer · Context (archaeology) · End-of-life care · Interpersonal communication · Palliative care · Psychological intervention · Public health · Economic and Financial Impacts of Cancer · Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life · Medicine · Nursing · Palliative Care and End-of-Life Issues · Psychology · Social Psychology