Advance Care Planning in Community-Dwelling Adults

Advance care planning is a process that allows for patient autonomy at the end of life. Yet, less than 30% of Americans over the age of 65 have an advance care plan. Advance care planning has positive effects on patients, families and healthcare systems. However, both patients and healthcare providers report barriers to completing and discussing advance care planning. Many different interventions have been studied to increase advance care planning rates. Engaging patients and providers electronically before or during appointments in outpatient clinics and community settings has shown marked improvement in advance care plan discussions and documentation rates. To address this complex issue, two community-based seminars with electronic pre-engagement for adults has been proposed to improve advance care planning completion rates.