A large majority of the
doctors (roughly 75 percent) believe it’s their responsibility to initiate
the end-of-life conversations, however, less than one-third have received
training on how to do so effectively with their patients and patients’ family
members. This is important for several
reasons. At the end of life we waste a
great deal of resources by not educating and talking about the end of life. Annually we waste $210 billion on unwanted,
unnecessary and non-beneficial healthcare services.
80 percent of people believe
it’s important to create advance directives, but less than 25% have actually
done so, and only 7% with their doctor’s help. Seventy-five percent of the
doctors say the conversations, which are often held in a hospital or other
healthcare facility, are initiated because Medicare reimburses for advanced-care
planning. However, only approximately 14 percent of the doctors report having
to bill Medicare-eligible
patients for having the conversations.
Despite the fact that end-of-life talks are covered by insurance for elderly
patients, which removes financial hurdles, doctors still find it
difficult to overcome the discomfort of talking about death. More than that,
most electronic paperwork systems are so antiquated, doctors report there’s no
place to include their patients’ end-of-life preferences in their file.
End-of-life
conversations not only help ensure a
patient the specific type of treatment they want once they may no longer be
able to articulate their desires, but they also save costs associated
with treating someone medically who doesn’t want to prolong life. Without “the
talk,” doctors and possibly even family members would be left in the dark on
how their loved one wishes to proceed when they are critically ill and dying.
Adapted from Medical Daily
2016
