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What Is Advance Care Planning and Why Is It Important?
Advance care planning is a process to discuss and plan for future medical care. It involves identifying personal preferences, naming them in legal documents, and discussing them with loved ones, […]
Advance care planning is a process to discuss and plan for future medical care. It involves identifying personal preferences, naming them in legal documents, and discussing them with loved ones, care partners, and healthcare professionals. Advance care planning had a greater focus on advance directives decades ago, but it has since broadened to help individuals build the skills necessary to identify what is needed to maintain their quality of life if they become severely ill or unable to communicate their needs.
Although people often think that advance care planning is a period of preparation that only occurs once in someone’s lifetime, it is intended to be a continual process that evolves throughout a lifetime. Since preferences can change over time and are often influenced by other factors such as religion or personal experiences, the advance care plan is meant to reflect any shifts in preferences. Most people are encouraged to revisit and update their advance care plan as significant changes occur throughout their lives or at least once yearly.
Advance care planning has been shown to have many benefits:
- Promotes open conversation about personal values and healthcare preferences
- Reduces the chances of receiving unwanted medical treatments
- Supports improved quality of life
- Provides clarity for family and loved ones, reducing potential conflict and stress
- Ensures people have the necessary information to make an informed decision that aligns with the values of a loved one who cannot speak for themselves.
- Promotes open conversations about healthcare preferences that might not otherwise occur
- In a healthcare setting, an advance care plan can reduce the chances of receiving unwanted selecting medical treatments It can also help reduce conflict among family members over differing opinions regarding whether to continue or withdraw treatment.
- Finally, advance care planning enables individuals to maintain and exercise their autonomy by handling their healthcare
Sources
“Advance Care Planning: What Is It and When Should It Be Done?” National Council on Aging. https://www.ncoa.org/article/advance-care-planning-what-is-it-and-when-should-it-be-done/
“What is ACP?” UCLA Health. https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/advance-care-planning/what-acp
“Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care”. National Institute on Aging. https://www.nia.nih.gov/health/advance-care-planning/advance-care-planning-advance-directives-health-car
“Advance Care Plans and the Potentially Conflicting Interests of Bedside Patient Agents: A Thematic Analysis”. National Library of Medicine. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8354728/
“Advance Care Plans and the Potentially Conflicting Interests of Bedside Patient Agents: A Thematic Analysis”. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8354728/
