Dr. Pauline Chen reports on a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine which examines the emotions of physicians, caregivers and patients near the end-of-life. Many patients and caregivers reported feeling abandoned by their physicians. Physicians were aware that patients might feel abandoned, and even believed they were taking steps to prevent it, but patients still reported feeling abandoned in their last hours. Dr. Anthony Back, lead author of the study, attributed the misunderstanding to physicians who may not realize the importance of closure to patients. And patients may not be able, or think they need to, speak up.
You can find the article here and the comments here.
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