Evolving medicolegal issues in palliative medicine.

The successful practice of hospice and palliative medicine requires basic knowledge of its medicolegal aspects. In this paper, we review several recent legal cases that highlight important, evolving legal issues in palliative medicine. These issues include efforts to change to advance directive laws after the Schiavo conflict, the Attorney General's challenge to Oregon's physician-assisted dying law, and the emergence of a tort for inadequate pain management. Despite conflicting attitudes about key issues in end-of-life care, the courts' decisions in these cases have consistently advanced the interests of hospice and palliative care practitioners.