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The Doctoring the Doctor Principle
(Page 2 of 2)
According to the
Harvard Medical School, physicians may delay
bringing up hospice for a number of reasons. For one
thing, doctors are committed to conquering disease,
so referring a patient to hospice can seem like a
sign of medical failure on their part. Many say they
don’t want to take away a patient’s hope. Physicians
may also fear losing contact with their patients,
not realizing that they can and should be a part of
the hospice team.
A few pertinent questions to ask
your loved one’s doctor:
-
What are the chances that the
treatment plan prescribed for my loved one will
be successful?
-
What are the risks to my loved
one from the treatment plan?
-
What are the chances that it
will help improve my loved one’s quality of
life?
-
Does my loved one’s condition
fit the qualifications for hospice care?
-
Have you considered such care?
And if not why not?
One of the first and most
important concepts to learn as a Fearless Caregiver
is that we are in fact an equal member of our loved
one’s care team. Sometimes, it is up to us to make
sure we can get our professional partners past their
misinformation and even their fear to help them
deliver the best possible care for our loved ones.
Gary Barg
Editor-in-Chief
gary@caregiver.com
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