ABSTRACT
Central to end-of-life care strategy has been an attempt to strengthen the role of primary care teams, which play an important role in identifying and diagnosing dying patients. Despite the many limitations, the idea of a pathway does offer hope for countries like India that have neither suitable legal provisions for assisted dying nor compassionate care settings for the elderly. In fact, preponderance of single-organ specialists for multiple diseases among the elderly goes without restraint in India. In pursuance of a more confirmatory diagnosis, the rate of interhospital transits (emergency care in hallways, elevators and corridors) has increased, which also pose a greater risk for elderly patients in the form of Unexpected Events (UEs), which are shockingly high in Indian hospitals. Absence of protocols for medical decision-making in hospitals seriously impacts the dying elderly. Indian hospitals with poor organization of health delivery rarely treat the dead respectfully.
