TY - JOUR T1 - Bioethics for clinicians: 15. Quality end-of-life care JF - Canadian Medical Association Journal JO - CMAJ SP - 159 LP - 162 VL - 159 IS - 2 AU - P. A. Singer AU - N. MacDonald Y1 - 1998/07/28 UR - http://www.cmaj.ca/content/159/2/159.abstract N2 - A physician who receives a call from the emergency department to see a patient with heart failure will have a clear framework within which to approach this problem. The thesis of this article is that physicians do not have an analogous conceptual framework for approaching end-of-life care. The authors present and describe a framework for end-of-life care with 3 main elements: control of pain and other symptoms, the use of life-sustaining treatments and support of those who are dying and their families. This 3-part framework can be used by clinicians at the bedside to focus their effort in improving the quality of end-of-life care. ER -