The procedure for death notification--"In Person, In Time…".

Informing of a patient's death is difficult for physicians as well as patient's families. Breaking bad news is part of clinical experience of physicians and existential experience of patient's close relatives. The professional manner of death notification may effectively reduce the level of stress and other negative emotions in both parties involved. Special information procedures defining cardinal rules of professional death notification have been devised to help physicians in this process. One of them, created in the United States in the 1990s, is the communication protocol - "In Person, In Time" - Recommended Procedures for Death Notification", discussed in the present paper.