Family Meetings Family meetings with and without the patient are often helpful in understanding the patient's place and role in the family. Family meetings should be conducted in an open, nonthreatening, informative way, with clearly stated goals and a time limitation set at the beginning. Whenever possible, the attending physician should lead the meeting, since he or she is primarily responsible for the patient's care.
Family meetings are also helpful to the health care team.
They may bring together physicians, nurses, and social workers who may have never discussed the patient's case together and who may want to discuss findings, impressions, and subtleties not found in the medical record. When the patient has decision-making capacity, family meetings should focus on what the patient says. When there is disagreement among family members about the authenticity of the patient's wishes or about the course of treatment to pursue, the consultant can assist by interviewing the patient and family separately and then together, usually in the patient's room. This method is helpful if the patient wishes to keep a secret from the family, if the patient has different goals and objectives than the family, or if the patient tends to change his or her mind in the presence of strong or persuasive family members. The consultant's role is to enable the patient to articulate his or her interests and, when possible, achieve his or her stated goals.