A physician, medical historian and bioethicist, Martensen pulls no punches: beyond the marvels of modern medical technology lies a treacherous morass of ethical, moral and spiritual dilemmas most of us are not ready to even consider: whether to opt for aggressive treatments, when to stop them, and how to die well. Too often the choice of aggressive treatment and heroic measures becomes an extended death by intensive care in grim hospital units designed more like prisons than places of healing. Martensen lays blame across the board, from patients with unrealistic expectations and doctors who don't explain treatment options fully, from profit-driven hospitals to an insurance bureaucracy that spurns routine health maintenance.

Robert Martensen, MD, PhD, director, Office of History, National Institutes of Health

05/25/2010