Controversies Surrounding the Hopelessly Ill Patient

Dr. Cassem, who acted as Guest Editor for this issue of the Linacre Quarterly, is Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, and is a member of the psychiatry staff at Massachusetts General Hospital. He is also Faculty Consultant, Center for Law and Health Sciences. Boston University and Director of Residency Training (Psychiatry) at Massachusetts General. In this article, Dr. Cassem examines the controversies which have arisen in dealing with a terminal or hopelessly ill patient. Dr. Cassem is a frequent contributor to medical journals, including Critical Care Medicine and the New England Journal of Medicine