Start a Conversation

The Serious Illness Conversation Guide was developed by a physician, Atul Gawande, at Ariadne Labs. It was developed to assist physicians and other health care professionals (nurses, respiratory therapists, social workers, etc) when having these difficult conversations with patients and/or family members. The Guide helps to communicate with persons who have serious illnesses like Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), heart disease, end stage renal disease, and other chronic, advanced illnesses and terminal illness. The words and phrases suggested in the guide have been tested and found to help patients understand the conversation better.