National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16, 2016. Healthcare facilities, healthcare professionals, chaplains, the legal community and many others across the country will be participating to highlight the importance of making advance healthcare decisions.
The Federal Patient Self-Determination Act requires that all Medicare-participating healthcare facilities inquire about and provide information to patients on advance directives. It also requires these facilities to provide community education on advance directives. Despite these requirements and state laws giving patients a choice about their healthcare, it is estimated that only a small minority of people have executed an advance directive. Moreover, fewer than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive in their medical records.
National Healthcare Decisions Day seeks to educate the public and demystify the topic of advance care planning by working to:
- Secure participation of every hospital, nursing home and assisted living facility in the country as well as a broad array of community organizations focused on healthcare
- Secure participation by professionals throughout the country, including physicians, nurses, chaplains and attorneys
- Create a diversified set of resources to provide clear, concise, and consistent information to the public about healthcare decision-making and advance directives
- Increase the number of people who have engaged in thoughtful advance care planning.
Click here to learn more about advance directives and to obtain patient and provider resources from the National Healthcare Decisions Day website.
Advance directives not only ensure that doctors, patients and families talk about future care, but also that the content of those conversations is documented in a fashion that travels with the patient as he or she moves across healthcare settings. The Great Plains QIN Care Coordination team is partnering with communities in our states to promote advance care planning through a community-based approach. Visit the Great Plains QIN website to find your state’s Care Coordination team lead to learn what’s happening in your state.