When is being comfortable and pain-free not a good idea? Most of us would say never. As we humans approach life’s end, though, that question can get trickier. Or at least more complex.
A recent court case stirred renewed discussion of end-of-life care, specifically comfort care and pain control.
Not Guilty
Dr. William Husel, a physician with Columbus, Ohio-based Mount Carmel Health System, was accused of killing 14 patients between 2014 and 2018 by administering excessive doses of fentanyl, a powerful opioid which has become a common, and very dangerous, street drug. Prosecutors argued that he had committed murder; the defense argued that he was providing comfort and the patients – all were in intensive care units – died of their underlying disease. Dr. Husel was found not guilty on all counts in April, 2022.
Nurses defend Dr. William Husel (center) during his trial.
Controversy
The controversy spread throughout the Mount Carmel Health System, eventually leading to the resignation of the chief executive and the firing of more than 20 employees. Dr. Husel, though acquitted of all charges, later voluntarily surrendered his medical license. But renewed discussion of end-of-life care can only be seen as a plus. All of us will face life’s end; not all of us will have given thought to what we want that end to look like. Or what choices, including pain management, we might make.
Comfort Care
“It sometimes happens that families and even caregivers are not familiar with comfort care,” says EOLCCA Board Vice President Robert V. Brody MD. This can include end-of-life care, “where the direction switches from curing disease to keeping the patient comfortable (and) can be misinterpreted as hastening death when in fact the medical literature says that keeping people at peace actually prolongs their life.” A primary care, hospice and palliative care, and pain management physician, Dr. Brody is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Family & Community Medicine at the University of CA San Francisco. He is also a leading spokesman on matters of medical ethics in the U.S. and abroad. “Dying people often need high doses of opioids to manage pain,” he observes. “This is done in an entirely beneficent way, and in no way is it meant to cause harm. Those not directly involved may misinterpret these efforts.”
It’s Complicated
As the currently popular meme goes, “It’s complicated.” This was shown in the Husel/Mount Carmel case, and countless other instances since the meme appeared years ago. While opioids are highly addictive, and one of the leading causes of death among Americans under 55, they are widely used in treating dying patients. Most of us would welcome them, if appropriate, as we are dying.
Comfort is a happy state at any age.
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A lifelong newspaper and magazine writer, EOLCCA Board Member Fran Moreland Johns has published fiction, nonfiction, and several books. Her focus on end-of-life issues includes many volunteer years, numerous articles and one book, Dying Unafraid. She holds a BA in Art from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, and currently blogs at Medium.com and franjohns.net. Her short story collection, Marshallville Stories, was released in April 2022.
As long as the patients consented to the treatment, it seems totally appropriate. I would want my doctor to do the same.
I so agree, Holly. Thanks for your thoughts.
Thankfully there were kind and ethical people on the jury that exonerated Dr Husel.
Indeed. Thanks for reading, and commenting.
I don’t understand why the doctor had to surrender his medical license if he wasn’t charged with anything.
If I read it all correctly, he surrendered his license voluntarily — possibly because the case dragged on for so long, while he was unable to practice, and there were still suits filed against him by families. A lot of peripheral sadness.
I think it is MY life and if I choose to have pain killers that hasten the end that’s fine with me. Quality of life is far more important to me than quantity of life. I’m so happy we are having this discussion.
I’m with you, Nancy. We’ll always need safeguards, but I hope we’re moving toward the time when ALL of us have better control of our own final days. And can stay pain-free; I don’t do pain well at all myself. (Which is one more reason I’m so glad that EOLCCA has my back.) Thanks for joining the conversation.