The Gap Between What the Patient-Care Team Communicates to the Patient

The gap between what the patient-care team communicates to the patient and family and what the patient and family understand about the patient's condition is an ongoing issue in end-of-life care because _________________________.

A) Physicians tend to initiate the conversation too early, and patients don't think these issues pertain to them
B) Patients are unable to cope with the knowledge they are dying
C) Of complex family dynamics
D) Goals of care are not elicited from patients to help frame their end-of-life decisions