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“The family’s in denial.  Can you meet with them and help clarify goals?” asked the medical ICU team.   Often times the palliative care team is consulted to speak with a patient or family “in denial,” and upon listening to the patient or family, the palliative care team may find that denial is not the actual issue.  Rather, it is misunderstanding, misconception, and/or miscommunication that is driving the disconnect between healthcare providers and the patient and family.   O

Sometimes my medical colleagues say, “This patient is of sound mind and can make all medical decisions on their own,” implying a serious...

“I’ll keep going until the patient tells me they want to stop,” the medical specialist tells me.   “I’ll keep going until the doctor...

A patient should meet two criteria to be a good candidate for receiving hospice support.   1.   Does the patient meet medical eligibility...

Most clinicians in clinic have a sense that a patient “isn’t doing well” when they read through a patient’s chart and note recurrent...