Certainty Quote by Atul Gawande
“We've created a multitrillion-dollar edifice for dispensing the medical equivalent of lottery tickets - and have only the rudiments of a system to prepare patients for the near certainty that those tickets will not win. Hope is not a plan, but hope is our plan.”
About This Quote
Source Book: Being Mortal, 2014, discussion on healthcare systems
Healthcare offers hope like lottery tickets but lacks preparation for inevitable failures.
In simple terms: Hope without plan is insufficient.
Key Takeaway
Create realistic patient expectations.
Themes
healthcare
hope
uncertainty
Mood
thoughtful
critical
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- clinical practice
- policy making
- patient counseling
Key Concepts
risk management
patient education
system design
Questions to Reflect On
- How can hope be integrated into planning?
- What safeguards prevent false optimism?
A Different Perspective
Hope alone cannot replace structured care.
![“[I]f in other sciences we should arrive at certainty without doubt and truth without error, it behooves us to place the foundations of knowledge in mathematics, in so far as disposed through it we are able to reach certainty in other sciences and truth by the exclusion of error.” quote by Roger Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d13/roger-bacon-15067_able_i-f-in-other-sciences-we-should-arrive-a_24209.jpg)