Use of Advance Directives in Long-term Care Populations

An advance directive (AD) allows a patient to communicate health care preferences in the event that he or she is no longer able to make these decisions (1). Many view advance care planning (ACP)—a process that includes discussing values and goals of care among the patient, family, and physician, and determining or executing treatment directives—as a way to help ensure that wishes about end-of-life care are honored (2). Ideally, ADs are part of the ACP process. Twenty years ago, Congress pas...