The New York Times: The New Old Age: One Day Your Mind May Fade. At Least You’ll Have a Plan: “…Dr. Barak Gaster, an internist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, had spent three years working with specialists in geriatrics, neurology, palliative care and psychiatry to come up with a five-page document that he calls a dementia-specific advance directive. In simple language, it maps out the effects of mild, moderate and severe dementia, and asks patients to specify which medical interventions they would want — and not want — at each phase of the illness…Not all experts are convinced another directive is needed. But as Dr. Gaster and his co-authors recently argued in the journal JAMA, the usual forms don’t provide much help with dementia. Ellen Goodman, founder of The Conversation Project (whose dementia-related kit similarly presents choices at different stages), pointed out that the new form represents a patient-doctor agreement…Dr. Rebecca Sudore, a geriatrician and palliative care specialist at the University of California, San Francisco, agreed. Her effort — Prepare for Your Care, an online guide — encourages users to incorporate their reasons for various decisions. “At the bedside, the ‘why’ is very important,” she said.” [ht/t Pete Weiss]