Promoting Goals-of-Care Discussions in Seriously Ill Patients.

Area of Science:

• Medical Informatics
• Patient-Centered Care
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Goals-of-care discussions are crucial for aligning medical treatment with patient values.
• Effective communication tools are needed to facilitate these sensitive conversations.
• Current methods may not consistently support documented goals-of-care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of patient-specific guides in promoting goals-of-care discussions.
• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of these guides among stakeholders.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of patient-specific guides.
• Documentation of goals-of-care discussions.
• Surveys and interviews with patients, surrogate decision-makers, and clinicians to assess feasibility and acceptability.

Main Results:

• Patient-specific guides significantly increased documented goals-of-care discussions.
• The guides were found to be feasible for use in clinical settings.
• High levels of acceptability were reported by patients, surrogate decision-makers, and clinicians.

Conclusions:

• Patient-specific guides are an effective tool for enhancing goals-of-care discussions.
• The guides are practical and well-received, supporting shared decision-making.
• Implementation of these guides can improve the quality of end-of-life care planning.