Evaluating the Presence of Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders in Terminally Ill Patients

Abstract

The purpose of advance care planning is to enable patients to make timely medical treatment decisions that are consistent with their desires when they are no longer able to make their desires known. Discussing resuscitation options is a critically important part of advance care planning to ensure that patients do not undergo treatments or interventions that they would not have chosen. The purposes of this project were to provide health care providers an instrument to facilitate end-of-life care discussions and improve the timeliness of discussing resuscitation options, and to modify a current hospice referral form. Educational toolkits provided primary care providers information and resources to integrate these conversations into patient visits and improve overall quality of life for patients and their family members.