Surrogates Who Received Daily Summaries Were More Satisfied with Intensive Care

For many critically ill patients, most communication is between the healthcare team and patients' surrogates. Researchers have examined strategies to improve family meetings; however, the value of regular written updates is unclear.

Investigators at Rush University Medical Center randomized 252 surrogates of patients (who were receiving mechanical ventilation and were unable to interact with healthcare providers) to receive daily written summaries of the medical course or usual communication. An investigator who was not part of the healthcare team created summaries through review of the medical record, conversations with treating providers, or both. All surrogates spoke English as their primary language, and more than half of enrollment occu…