A doctor gives her seriously ill patient the devastating news that the care she required was only available at the hospital and that she’d likely never improve. The doctor was wrong.
The patient does improve. She does go home. She spends meaningful time there before she ultimately passes away.
What happens when a doctor’s end-of-life prognosis turns out to be wrong?
In this story in The New York Times, the physician shares what she learned from this experience about medical uncertainty, end-of-life prognosis, and how doctors talk with patients about what comes next. Read it here: I Told My Patient She’d Never Go Home. I Was Wrong.
Elder law attorney, Terry Garrett, CELA, is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and is an Approved Guardianship Attorney. She assists people in elder law, estate and special needs planning, guardianship and settling estates. She graduated with honors from Cornell University. She was on the Dean’s List at Wharton Business School. She earned her J.D. at Columbia Law School, receiving the Parker Award and a Mellon Fellowship.
