Abstract

There was a time when the clergy, medical providers, philosophers, and individuals agreed on how to achieve a happy and holy death. In the fourteenth century, as a response to the horror of the black death, a document emerged that was accepted and adopted by these disparate parties. Translated as the art of dying, the ars moriendi was a set of common instructions and coaching tools to facilitate a peaceful transition for providers and patients alike. The contemporary world needs a new ars moriendi that articulates a triple aim: standardizing the service terms and definitions of hospice and palliative care, promoting early initiation of end-of-life services, and de-emphasizing services provided by intensive care units and emergency departments. If consensus could coalesce around these three goals, the experience of death and dying could be significantly improved.