Should We Know Our Life Expectancy?

A new debate is emerging on whether doctors should tell patients their likely life expectancy.

A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine claims doctors need to raise the issue of life expectancy so they don’t “undercut the ability of patients and their caregivers to make informed choices for the future.”  This controversial recommendation applies only to patients older than 85 and any patient likely to live less than 10 years.

See Judith Graham, Should We Be Told Our Life Expectancy?, MarketWatch, Jan. 3, 2013.