Decision-making capacity, medical or otherwise, is always specific to the task requiring the decision.1,4Certain patients may be able to decide some aspects of their care, but not others. For example, a patient with mild-to moderate Alzheimer's disease who experiences chest pain may be able to understand the need for antibiotics to fight pneumonia but not the indications for, or the risks and benefits of, cardiac catheterization and angioplasty for coronary artery disease.