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Boy Scouts for Henry

St Mark’s Family Medicine, Salt Lake City, Utah

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Richard E. Allen, MD, MPH, St Mark’s Family Medicine, Utah HealthCare Institute, 1250 East 3900 S, Suite 260, Salt Lake City, UT 84124, rallen{at}utahhealthcare.org

ABSTRACT

"Can we do anything for you?" The question was embarrassing. Henry had been poked and prodded and preserved far beyond his wishes. In a medical system that scorns comfort care, a resident physician is troubled by the case of an elderly man with poor quality of life. An awkward attempt at a Boy Scout service project emphasizes how poorly we comfort the terminally ill despite modern technology and interventionalism.

Key Words: Medical decision making • palliative care • end-of-life care • terminally ill • empathy • practice of medicine/health care

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