Advanced Planning Guide

Don't wait until it's too late to plan for your end of life.

Advanced planning, also known as advanced care planning is crucial for ensuring that patients receive the medical care they want, even if they cannot make their own decisions. However, a recent study found that two-thirds of US adults do not have an advance directive. Advanced planning involves having ongoing conversations and making shared decisions to clarify and document an individual's wishes, preferences, and goals for future medical care.

Not only does advanced planning empower patients and families to make informed healthcare decisions, but it also improves the quality of care and patient outcomes.

Here are nineteen evidence-based benefits of Advanced Care Planning for healthcare systems, professionals, patients, and families:

Enables structured conversations between healthcare professionals and patients about treatment goals and preferences.
Promotes patient-centered care by focusing on the individual's personal preferences.
Ensures that patients receive care that aligns with their preferences.
Helps healthcare providers and families understand and honor a patient's preferences when they cannot make decisions themselves.
Increases the likelihood of patients being able to die in their preferred place, such as at home.
Allows proactive arrangements for end-of-life care, including staying at home, in a nursing home, or in a hospice facility.
Reduces the burden on families when making decisions for their loved ones.
Improves the bereavement experience for families by reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.
Enhances families' satisfaction with end-of-life care and their understanding of the dying process.
May reduce moral distress among critical care nurses.
Improves quality of life and end-of-life care by preventing unwanted hospitalizations and increasing utilization of palliative and hospice services.
Reduces the use of aggressive treatments and hospital admissions at the end of life.
Decreases in-hospital and intensive care unit deaths.
Reduces the cost of end-of-life care without increasing mortality.
Increases completion rates of advance directives.
Enhances the effectiveness of honoring patients' end-of-life wishes.
Improves end-of-life care for individuals with dementia by allowing them to express their preferences before cognitive decline.
Improves outcomes and patient experience while reducing health costs for high-risk patients.
Improves population health by promoting goal-focused care.

Advanced Planning provides the information and resources you need to talk to your doctor and health care providers about your end of life issues and concerns.

Our guide can help make that conversation easier so you can feel confident you're making the best decisions for yourself and your loved ones.

Make that appointment today and get started on planning for your future. You'll be glad you did.

Download our free guide now!