Importance of physician-patient communication in cardiovascular care.

摘要

I recently read a news release entitled ' 'Too Sick to understand: Doctor-Patient device communication falls short."1 It related to two presentations made at the annual Scientific Meeting of the Heart Failure Society of America in Seattle in September, 2012.2'3 The first study was undertaken in four Destination Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) programs to determine how much candidate patients and their caregivers understood the implications that LVAD implantation has on end-of-life decisions. The study showed that, although the written materials provided to patients and caregivers pre-implantation discuss risks associated with the device, there was little acknowledgment of the considerations patients and their families will encounter in end-of-life care.