A recent survey findings of Californians shows that patients and physicians not discussing end-of-life care. Key findings include:
- About 80% of Californians said they would want to discuss end-of-life care with their physician if they had a serious illness.
- Only 7% said they have taken part in such a discussion, including only 13% of residents ages 65 and older.
- 82% of respondents said it is important to have their end-of-life wishes in writing, but only 23% have drafted such a plan.
- 70% of respondents said they would prefer to die at home, but only 32% have made such arrangements.
- About 66% of respondents said they would prefer a natural death if severely ill, and only 7% would want health providers to take all necessary measures to prolong their lives.
- 44% of those who recently had experienced the death of a loved one said the person's end-of-life care preferences had been followed completely by health care providers.
Dr. Gawande stated it perfectly in his New Yorker Article, "modern medicine is good at staving off death with aggressive interventions - and bad at knowing when to focus, instead, on improving the days that terminal patients have left."
Healthcare leaders may also be interested in the ACHE policy on decisions near the end of life.
One doctors thoughts on the subject... good thoughts! http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/09/AR2009010902298_2.html?sid=ST2009010903215
Posted by: Christina | February 19, 2012 at 03:26 PM
This is very interesting to know. Amazing how people deal with death. End of life care is very important and hopefully, healthcare providers will focus on fulfilling their promises of taking care of this.
Posted by: Elysse Parsons | February 29, 2012 at 03:35 AM