Given our aging population, there will sadly be an increasing number of terminally-ill patients over the next ten to twenty years. A Patient-Centered Approach to Medicine for the Terminally-Ill explains that a more humane patient-centered approach is necessary to ensure that terminally-ill patients are cared for effectively at the end of life. It is a well-known fact that terminally-ill patients are very difficult to care for by their physicians and other medical specialists, and paternalism is no longer a viable way of caring for the terminally-ill. In this book, Switankowsky argues that there are five conditions for physicians to bring about patient-centered medicine. These are: effective physician-patient disclosure of treatments, successful decision-making, effective communication, development of effective physician-patient relationships, and advance directives. By following these five necessary conditions, physicians could ensure that all terminally-ill patients die with some degree of dignity and are given essential, humane care until the end of their days.

A Patient-Centered Approach to the Chronically-Ill addresses the unique needs of chronically-ill patients and the challenges they present for medical doctors. This book features four principles of the patient-centered approach that can be used by physicians in treating chronically-ill patients. By adhering to these four principles, physicians will be able to humanely treat chronically-ill patients with the care and attention that they need in order to encourage them to manage their symptoms in the best possible way.