Advance Directives
The most common types of advance directives amongst in home care and long term care patients are living wills and do not resuscitate (DNR) orders. This is not surprising; many people worry about the type of care they will receive in the future and they do not want to become a burden upon their family members.
The numbers of patients that have advance directives is also not surprising. The more severe the type of care received, the more likely a patient is to have an advance directive. For example, a recent study showed that 28 percent of in home care patients had this paperwork filed. 65 percent of nursing home patients do, and 88 percent of discharged hospice patients have Ads filed. This suggests that the closer someone comes to the end of their life, the more important the care that they wish to receive becomes. And because DNR orders are one of the most popular types of legal stipulations filed, it is clear that people with strict views on their future are more likely to file an AD. Going along with this trend is the fact that people over age 85 are more likely to have an AD filed than someone under 65 is. Again, this trend is not surprising.
Ads are very important in the regard that they can set in legal stone exactly the type of care that the patient wishes to receive in the future should they themselves not be able to tell what they want. This can happen for a variety of reasons including an accident induced coma or advanced dementia. Whatever the case might be, if the patient has an AD filed, their families will know exactly what to do without question. This is a very important thing amongst people that don't want to be a financial or emotional burden upon their surviving family members.
Advanced care planning is one way in which to establish a set of ADs. Advanced care planning is important because it is an inclusive discussion between the elderly patient, their family, and other professionals. They can discuss openly what they think is the best course of action and come up with a mutually agreed upon and understood plan. Advanced care planning is a vital component of end of life planning. Your family will have absolutely no questions about what to do if they are included in this process.
Of course, you don't need to go through advanced care planning if you just want to get a living will or other ADs. But it is one of the easiest and most foolproof ways to get everyone on your team on the same page when it comes to your treatment and care.
The numbers of patients that have advance directives is also not surprising. The more severe the type of care received, the more likely a patient is to have an advance directive. For example, a recent study showed that 28 percent of in home care patients had this paperwork filed. 65 percent of nursing home patients do, and 88 percent of discharged hospice patients have Ads filed. This suggests that the closer someone comes to the end of their life, the more important the care that they wish to receive becomes. And because DNR orders are one of the most popular types of legal stipulations filed, it is clear that people with strict views on their future are more likely to file an AD. Going along with this trend is the fact that people over age 85 are more likely to have an AD filed than someone under 65 is. Again, this trend is not surprising.
Ads are very important in the regard that they can set in legal stone exactly the type of care that the patient wishes to receive in the future should they themselves not be able to tell what they want. This can happen for a variety of reasons including an accident induced coma or advanced dementia. Whatever the case might be, if the patient has an AD filed, their families will know exactly what to do without question. This is a very important thing amongst people that don't want to be a financial or emotional burden upon their surviving family members.
Advanced care planning is one way in which to establish a set of ADs. Advanced care planning is important because it is an inclusive discussion between the elderly patient, their family, and other professionals. They can discuss openly what they think is the best course of action and come up with a mutually agreed upon and understood plan. Advanced care planning is a vital component of end of life planning. Your family will have absolutely no questions about what to do if they are included in this process.
Of course, you don't need to go through advanced care planning if you just want to get a living will or other ADs. But it is one of the easiest and most foolproof ways to get everyone on your team on the same page when it comes to your treatment and care.
Source...