I admit that I’m a bit loose with the word “Pathways”, but it does give me the creeps when I hear the word, in any context.
But I also did hear (or read) a while ago that England does do what I described (i.e., saying they can’t do anymore), at least to an extent much more than the US does.
The problem is that from the right in the US (like Fox News, FR, Breitbart, Rush, Savage) there is a lot of hysteria about this and their readers and listeners assume what they say is correct. And don’t bother even wiki-ing or googling it.
There HAS been abuse of the system, that much is clear. Appalling abuse.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liverpool_Care_Pathway_for_the_Dying_Patient