Discussions about serious illness and end-of-life care, which are now reimbursable through Medicare, make it more likely that patients will receive the kind of care they want, yet these critical conversations often fall short, start too late, or don’t happen at all. New focus group research of consumers and clinicians provides insights into practical ways to improve advance care planning (ACP).
Cambia Health Foundation collaborated with The John A. Hartford Foundation and California Health Care Foundation to commission “Conversation Starters”: six focus groups about advance care planning made up of clinicians (general practitioners, internists, oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants). A seventh focus group, composed of 31 racially and culturally diverse adults age 40+ who have an advance care plan, was conducted online. The results of the focus groups have received coverage from the Chicago Tribune and MedPage Today.
Among the key findings:
The focus groups build on a palliative care poll of primary care and specialist physicians in all 50 states, conducted earlier this year by the same three health care foundations. This research also builds on 2011 research, when Cambia Health Foundation partnered with The National Journal to conduct a consumer opinion poll, “Living Well at the End of Life: A National Conversation.” The results demonstrated overwhelmingly that Americans wanted a more open public dialogue about the issues and options surrounding end-of-life and palliative care, and that Americans believed such discussions should be fully covered by both Medicare and private insurance.
Cambia Health Foundation collaborated with The John A. Hartford Foundation and California Health Care Foundation to commission “Conversation Starters”: six focus groups about advance care planning made up of clinicians (general practitioners, internists, oncologists, cardiologists, pulmonologists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants). A seventh focus group, composed of 31 racially and culturally diverse adults age 40+ who have an advance care plan, was conducted online. The results of the focus groups have received coverage from the Chicago Tribune and MedPage Today.
Among the key findings:
- Providers and consumers noted important differences between “early” and “later” advance care planning conversations.
- Providers may need specialized training and approaches to meet the needs of seriously ill patients and their families, the research found.
The focus groups build on a palliative care poll of primary care and specialist physicians in all 50 states, conducted earlier this year by the same three health care foundations. This research also builds on 2011 research, when Cambia Health Foundation partnered with The National Journal to conduct a consumer opinion poll, “Living Well at the End of Life: A National Conversation.” The results demonstrated overwhelmingly that Americans wanted a more open public dialogue about the issues and options surrounding end-of-life and palliative care, and that Americans believed such discussions should be fully covered by both Medicare and private insurance.