An alarming 84 percent of Pennsylvania adults have not prepared an advance health care directive that would tell their doctors, family, and other care providers their wishes if they become very ill and are unable to communicate.
The findings come from a recent Patient Poll from the Institute for Good Medicine at the Pennsylvania Medical Society. Only 16.2 percent of Pennsylvania adults polled had an advance health care directive, while another 23.9 percent said that they don’t have one but are considering one.
April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day, so this is a good time to talk to patients about the importance of an advance health care directive. Remind them that making end-of-life decisions ahead of time can spare friends and family the agony of trying to decide what level of care the patient would want to receive.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society offers resources for both physicians and patients. For more information, also visit: