Does a medicine dispenser (pain pump) hasten the patient’s death?

A pain pump, or a dispenser administering medication as an infusion into the tissue beneath the skin or into a vein, is one way to provide the patient with symptom-relieving medication when the patient’s symptoms or decreased general condition make them unable to take medicine by mouth, or when the effects of the medication are insufficient when taken by mouth. Giving medication as an infusion is common near death, since a patient whose condition is deteriorating is not always able to take medication using other methods.