End Game is a powerful new documentary which follows two patients - one who has chosen hospice care and one who has chosen hospital care - through their end-of-life journies. End Game was an official selection at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
Communication helps ensure end-of-life wishes are followed
"If we lived and died in a perfect world, all our end-of-life wishes would be followed.... But we are not in a perfect world, and too many people are taking their last breath without their wishes being followed."
Click below to read this compelling article by Andrea Gallagher (CSA®, President of Senior Concerns) to learn more about the importance of communicating your end-of-life wishes.
Ventura County doctors pioneer Medcordance, a groundbreaking electronic POLST Registry
The Medcordance is beginning a micro-launch at select healthcare institutions in Ventura County. Created by a team of Ventura County physicians led by Carlo Reyes, Medcordance will be the first registry of its kind certified by Medicare for QCDR reporting under MACRA/MIPS. ePOLST forms uploaded to the registry will be viewable in all participating medical centers, ensuring that patient wishes are communicated quickly between facilities. Updates about this groundbreaking local program will be posted here.
Media & Tools
Language Is a Vital Tool in Maximizing Palliative Care
The language we use is crucial to the wider dissemination of the best care possible for patients nearing the end of life, according to Ira Byock, MD, one of the country’s leading voices in palliative care practice and advocacy.
Articles
End-of-Life Care Planning in the News
How to prepare yourself for a good end of life
By Katy Butler
An important article that shows what the author learned about how to get the best from our imperfect health care system and how to prepare for a good end of life.
The conversation you don’t want to have is the one you need most — especially with COVID
"Conversations about a person’s wishes — and what lifesaving care actually entails — do not happen with most patients in most hospitals, let alone when they show up in the emergency room for the first time suffering from COVID-19."
Click below to read this important article from the Los Angeles Times about what can happen when you don't talk to your family about your end-of-life wishes.
The Clinical Frailty Scale can help you decide when it may be time to start considering end of life measures.
Critical Care Doctor Explains Directives Followed In Near-Death Cases
Dr. Jessica Zitter, a critical and palliative care specialist takes listener questions about advanced directives that doctors follow in critical situations.
Click below to listen to the 8-minute interview from NPR.
Go Wish is a simple card game created by the Coda Alliance to help people identify their end-of-life priorities. Players sort cards with goals like "To be able to help others", "To be free from pain", and "Not being connected to machines" into high and low priority categories. Playing Go Wish with loved ones can clarify what you would like to occur if you are confronted by a terminal condition, and bring some order to a life phase which can be overwhelming.
Advance care planning and end-of-life care are hot topics showing up in publications such as the New York Times, The Atlantic, and numerous thought provoking blogs and podcasts. Check out the links below to learn more.
Quality Indicators for Older Adults: Preventing Unintended Harms
Many Seniors Struggle After Hospital Stay
The Best Palliative Care Blogs of the Year
4 End-of-Life Podcasts Worth a Listen