Air date: December 27, 2009

Host: David Crabb, MD

Email
Share this segment
Download MP3

Interview: Alexia Torke, MD, assistant professor of medicine and geriatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine

When a hospitalized patient is unable to make important health decisions for himself, someone has to step in. Maybe it's a close friend or a relative.

In hospital parlance, this individual is referred to as a decision-making surrogate. But whoever the surrogate is -- there’s no guarantee that communications for the patient will be seamless.

Sound Medicine's Dr. David Crabb speaks with Indiana University's Dr. Alexia Torke, who recently completed a study looking at how well doctors communicate with these surrogates.

Additional Resources:

• Read more about Dr. Torke's research in surrogate decision-making in the IU School of Medicine newsroom.

Comments

Comments have been closed.