A parting lesson from my parents - The Boston Globe

 "A 2014 REPORT by the Institute of Medicine called “Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life” found that, despite some progress over the past 20 years, a wide gap still exists between the kind of end-of-life care we want and what we usually receive. Many of the report’s recommendations for improvement focus on two broad areas — communication among patients, loved ones, and clinicians, and the care patients get during advanced illness and at the end of life.

Research finds cascading benefits from talking early about our end-of-life care wishes. Conversations about goals and preferences are the first step to formal advance care planning — the process of thinking about and documenting priorities and wishes for end-of-life care. These conversations, in turn, allow patients and families to begin to prepare emotionally for serious illness and can alleviate patient concerns about whether they will be involved in decisions about their care. What’s more, people who have created advance care plans are more likely to choose palliative and hospice care focused on relieving pain and discomfort near the end of life."



A parting lesson from my parents - The Boston Globe