The role of the primary care physician in the care of the terminally ill.

The primary care physician is often the provider best situated and suited to deal with all aspects of the care and management of the elderly patient with a terminal illness. Despite the many barriers physicians face (the most significant of which are inadequate training and poor reimbursement), providing quality care for the terminally ill is a critically important task. As Angell editorialized in 1982 about pain management, "the quality of mercy is essential to the practice of medicine. Here, of all places, it must not be strained."