The picture of Quark on Worf's mug is a promotional shot of Armin Shimerman taken during the production of Emissary (1993), the first episode of Deep Space Nine. At that time, Shimerman was still wearing the nose made for Rom, played by Max Grodénchik, which is why the picture looks slightly different from Quark's actual appearance.
Quark had previously inquired about promoting merchandise on Deep Space 9's monitors (which Sisko denied) in The Jem'Hadar (1994).
All of the outdoor scenes were shot at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County, Southern California, where Rocketdyne had performed shuttle testings that resulted in the Earth being burned and scorched due to the heat and flames of rocket engines.
The working title for this episode was " "The Healing Touch." However, the producers decided that would raise mistaken expectations with viewers as to how well Dr. Bashir will deal with the medical situation. In response, René Echevarria came up with the final title, which could mean either life or death depending on the context.
Koval, the Chairman of the Tal Shiar, would ask Bashir about the events of this episode in the seventh season episode Inter Arma Enim Silent Leges (1999).