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. 2001 May;16(5):315-9.
doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2001.90901.x.

"Serious and complex illness" in quality improvement and policy reform for end-of-life care

J Lynn  1 , J H Forlini
Affiliations

"Serious and complex illness" in quality improvement and policy reform for end-of-life care

J Lynn et al. J Gen Intern Med. 2001 May.

Abstract

Americans are living longer - a mark of success in public health and medical care - but more will live the last few years with progressive illness and disability. The dominant conception of care delivery separates "aggressive" or life-extending care from "palliative" or death-accepting care, with an assumed "transition" between them. The physiology and the experience of this population are mismatched in this model. Here, we propose a more useful category for public policy and clinical quality improvement: persons who will die as a result of "serious and complex illness." Delivery system changes could ensure reliable, continuous, and competent care to this population.

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