"Good Care, Painful Choices surveys the ethical decisions that must be made by ordinary people who deal with medicine today - ranging from beginning-life issues such as test-tube babies and surrogate motherhood to end-of-life issues such as advance directives, patient refusal of treatment, and physician-assisted suicide. This third edition gives special attention to partial-birth abortion and to recent discoveries in genetics involving stem cells, cloning, and eugenics." "The strength of the book comes from its foundation in basic moral principles that stress personhood, moral decision making, and conscience. Decidedly Christian, the book gives special emphasis to the Roman Catholic tradition. It will be welcomed by Catholics, by Christians of all denominations, and by anyone interested in a careful overview of contemporary medical ethics."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

When Champ, a German Shepherd, was adopted from a local breed rescue, his family hoped and expected to spend many fun-filled years with him. However, Champ suffered physically and mentally from neglect and trauma from his first years of life. Despite numerous treatments, Champ was never able to overcome that trauma to become a "normal" dog, and his family made the painful decision to give him peace through behavior euthanasia. This work serves not only as an account of Champ's life and his family's attempts to help him, but also as a resource on behavior euthanasia, which is a compassionate choice for unmanageable aggression, reactivity, bites or severe anxiety. Investigating the potential causes of these issues, chapters examine scientific research on dog behavior and emotions.

More than ever, society faces painful choices in the allocation of resources for health care. How it makes these choices, and how wise they are, will determine the quality and character of health care for years to come. David Mechanic examines existing and impending dilemmas the American health care system must manage as it confronts these choices. He explores conceptual approaches to health and health care, showing how these translate into research, and defines a strategy for informed choice. The result is a masterful volume by one of our leading medical sociologists at the peak of his career. Mechanic looks at the continuing emphasis on biomedical technology in the context of growing economic, constraints, as medical care becomes more expensive and demands become greater. He examines the discrepancy between public expectations and how health care is actually provided, and points out increasing discordance between demographic trends and disease patterns and the medical system's emphasis on acute care. Of particular concern is the enormous gap between entitlements for medical care and the increasing need for long-term care. This gap is of particular concern because of the United States's enormous investment in health care, which now consumes 11 percent of the Gross National Product, Although there is no particular consensus on what is an appropriate level of investment in health, policymakers are impatient with the medical system's apparent inability to control costs, and are concerned as well about the competition for resources between health and other sectors. Mechanic examines new trends, such as managed care, and transformation of the role of those who provide health care from patient advocates to allocators of services-a crucial distinction. The choices that will have to be made in the next decades are difficult They will also be painful, but they are inevitable. The key challenge will be to respond to the anxieties of the 37 million uninsured children and adults, the growing numbers of frail elderly, and the needs of patients with serious mental illness and other chronic disabilities. All of this must be accomplished while maintaining a high level of service for the rest of the population, and without breaking the bank. To achieve this, Mechanic argues, health services must be shaped to enhance function and quality of life, and not simply in response to technological imperatives. In its profound understanding of the social and political context, in which competitive initiative, the growth of regulation, new health care systems, and approaches for making research sensitive to patients are all evident, "Painful Choices "provides a framework for responsive and meaningful policy analysis.

Covering the newest trends and treatments in pain care, as well as the pain treatment strategies that have been successfully employed in the past, Pain Care Essentials and Innovations brings you fully up to date with effective treatments for acute and chronic pain. It offers expert guidance on both interventional and non-interventional strategies, provided by respected academic physiatrists who practice evidence-based medicine at UCLA and an ACGME-accredited rehabilitation and pain program. - Covers cannabinoids in pain care, novel therapeutics in pain medicine, and integrative care in pain management. - Discusses relevant basic science, psychological aspects of pain care, opioids and practice guidelines, geriatric pain management, and future research in the field. - Consolidates today's available information and guidance into a single, convenient resource.

A doctor on the front lines of hospital care illuminates one of the most important and controversial social issues of our time. It is harder to die in this country than ever before. Though the vast majority of Americans would prefer to die at home—which hospice care provides—many of us spend our last days fearful and in pain in a healthcare system ruled by high-tech procedures and a philosophy to “fight disease and illness at all cost.” Dr. Ira Byock, one of the foremost palliative-care physicians in the country, argues that how we die represents a national crisis today. To ensure the best possible elder care, Dr. Byock explains we must not only remake our healthcare system but also move beyond our cultural aversion to thinking about death. The Best Care Possible is a compelling meditation on medicine and ethics told through page-turning life-or-death medical drama. It has the power to lead a new national conversation.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • From authors of Lean In and Originals: a powerful, inspiring, and practical book about building resilience and moving forward after life’s inevitable setbacks After the sudden death of her husband, Sheryl Sandberg felt certain that she and her children would never feel pure joy again. “I was in ‘the void,’” she writes, “a vast emptiness that fills your heart and lungs and restricts your ability to think or even breathe.” Her friend Adam Grant, a psychologist at Wharton, told her there are concrete steps people can take to recover and rebound from life-shattering experiences. We are not born with a fixed amount of resilience. It is a muscle that everyone can build. Option B combines Sheryl’s personal insights with Adam’s eye-opening research on finding strength in the face of adversity. Beginning with the gut-wrenching moment when she finds her husband, Dave Goldberg, collapsed on a gym floor, Sheryl opens up her heart—and her journal—to describe the acute grief and isolation she felt in the wake of his death. But Option B goes beyond Sheryl’s loss to explore how a broad range of people have overcome hardships including illness, job loss, sexual assault, natural disasters, and the violence of war. Their stories reveal the capacity of the human spirit to persevere . . . and to rediscover joy. Resilience comes from deep within us and from support outside us. Even after the most devastating events, it is possible to grow by finding deeper meaning and gaining greater appreciation in our lives. Option B illuminates how to help others in crisis, develop compassion for ourselves, raise strong children, and create resilient families, communities, and workplaces. Many of these lessons can be applied to everyday struggles, allowing us to brave whatever lies ahead. Two weeks after losing her husband, Sheryl was preparing for a father-child activity. “I want Dave,” she cried. Her friend replied, “Option A is not available,” and then promised to help her make the most of Option B. We all live some form of Option B. This book will help us all make the most of it.

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