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In your palliative care practice, how often do patients and family address advance directives. How do you get them to do this?
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MikeRabowMD (Physician - Hospice / Palliative Care (Verified) ) - 05 / 18 / 2012
Paying attention to advance care planning, which includes written advance directives, is key. This includes thinking about what you might want in different circumstances at the end of life, thinking about who you’d want as your surrogate decision-maker (DPOA), and expressing your values about a life worth living.
However, completing advance directives is not very common (both because patients don’t like to think about it and physicians don’t raise the issue).
Sometimes, thinking about what you DO want, rather than just what you DON’T want makes sense. Check out the Five Wishes advance directive (http://www.agingwithdignity.org/five-wishes.php). Also, many states now have physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) that can stay with patients no matter where they are (home, nursing home, or hospital).
However, completing advance directives is not very common (both because patients don’t like to think about it and physicians don’t raise the issue).
Sometimes, thinking about what you DO want, rather than just what you DON’T want makes sense. Check out the Five Wishes advance directive (http://www.agingwithdignity.org/five-wishes.php). Also, many states now have physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) that can stay with patients no matter where they are (home, nursing home, or hospital).
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