Ethical aspects of medical decision-making in demented patients: a report from the Netherlands.

In the Netherlands, the medical care of demented patients in the last phase of their life is very often the responsibility of the nursing home physician. Against the background of the public debate on euthanasia and related end-of-life decisions, this article discusses the ethical problems encountered in this field of medicine. Special attention is given to the problems of prognosis and the possible contribution of living wills to decision-making on behalf of incompetent demented patients.