Advance Care Planning: How Do We Get to Completion?

Advance care planning (ACP) is the act of deciding ones wishes at the end-of-life and making those wishes known. Healthcare providers rely on these wishes to provide end-of-life care. Despite the impact ACP has on quality of life at the end-of-life, most conversations remain undocumented. Even when ACP conversations take place, completion rates remain at an all-time low. This report explored the impact of appointment call reminders and patient portal messages on advance directive (AD) completion and documentation in the EHR. Following completion, a primary care practice experienced an increase in ACP conversation and ACP completion in the EHR. This report will discuss the methods utilized to improve ACP completion.