I was recently corresponding with David Tate, a San Francisco Attorney who specializes in estates, trusts and elder/disability litigation. He told me that he’s seeing more cases of conservators having to justify the need for dementia care, and also the kind of dementia care being provided.
Here are some of the questions that conservators may be called upon to answer by a Probate Court:
• The nature of the medical condition which requires treatment.
• The recommended course of medical treatment which is considered to be medically appropriate.
• The threat to the health of the conservatee if authorization to the consent of the recommended course of treatment is delayed or denied by the Court.
• The predictable or probable outcome of the recommended course of treatment.
• The medically available alternatives, if any, to the course of treatment recommended.
• Efforts made to obtain an informed consent from the conservatee.
Honestly, it’s a good idea to ask these sorts of questions no matter what medical condition you’re facing. But families and elder care specialists should remember to ask these kinds of questions when they’re planning a course of treatment for dementia.
Elizabeth (Dr Liz) has over twenty years of experience in providing medical care to the elders. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Care Medicine. Dr Landsverk founded ElderConsult Geriatric Medicine, a house calls practice, to address the challenging medical and behavioral issues often facing older patients and their families.