High Value Intervention for Communicating about End-of-Life Goals Is Released

December 5, 2014

(Oncology Nurse Advisor) – Physician-patient communication about goals of care is a low risk, high value intervention for patients with a life threatening illness, the American College of Physicians (ACP) advised in a paper published in JAMA Internal Medicine (2014; doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.5271). “Discussions about end-of-life care, especially early in the course of a life-limiting illness, are associated with care more consistent with patient goals and improved patient outcomes, including longer survival rates and better quality of life,” said David Fleming, MD, president of ACP.