This was splashed by the ADHA team last week:
My Health Record best place for Advance Care Directives
29 March, 2019 - 9:45
With National Advance Care Planning Week occurring 1-5 April, medical leaders are reminding Australians to make sure their future health care preferences are uploaded to My Health Record, where they can be easily accessed when needed.
“National Advance Care Planning Week reminds us all of the importance of making your loved ones aware of your wishes in regards to health treatment, for a time in future where you may no longer be able to express your preferences. When you are sick, the burdens and stresses of decision-making may fall on those you love,” said says Adelaide GP, Dr Chris Moy, Chair of the Ethics and Medico-legal Committee of the Australian Medical Association and ambassador for National Advance Care Planning Week.
“Having conversations beforehand, documenting your wishes, and knowing where this information is stored and available can help ease this burden. My Health Record is equipped to store your advance care plan, allowing it to be accessed by your health care team at a place and a time in the future when it is needed. All Australians now have the opportunity to use this tool to ensure that they obtain health treatment in line with their preferences.”
Storing advance care planning documents in My Health Record is particularly vital in emergency care cases where hospitals, paramedics and other relevant registered healthcare providers need access to a patient’s records, in order to provide the care the patient wants.
Consumer, Melissa Williams, said, “My husband is an athlete who competes across the country but while he is fit, he is also completely blind so it is difficult for him to track his healthcare documents. Storing our Advanced Care Plans in our My Health Records gives us peace of mind that our future health care wishes will be respected.”
‘When a sudden medical event occurs, access to a person’s documented health care preferences is imperative. We’ve heard desperate stories of loved ones frantically trying to access ACDs from solicitor’s offices, personal laptops and even locked safes. If you’ve gone to the trouble of documenting your preferences, make sure you take that critical extra step of uploading your ACD to My Health Record,” explained Linda Nolte, Program Director of Advance Care Planning Australia, the organisation that runs National Advance Care Planning Week.
Find more information about uploading your advance care plan to My Health Record
Find more information about National Advance Care Planning Week.
ENDS
Key facts
- Almost 50% of people will not be able to make their own end-of-life medical decisions[1].
- Less than 15% of Australians have documented their preferences in an Advance Care Directive[2] (ACD). (30% of people aged 65+ have an ACD)[3]
- A third of Australians will die before the age of 75[4].
- Most people die after a chronic illness, not a sudden event[3].
- Research shows that advance care planning can reduce anxiety, depression and stress experienced by families and that they’re more likely to be satisfied with their loved one’s care[5].
About Advance Care Planning Australia
Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA) is a national program funded by the Australian Government, Department of Health, enabling Australians to make the best choices for their life and health care.ACPA increases advance care planning resources across health sectors and NGOs, improves workforce capability, produces information resources for diverse consumers and communities, and builds the evidence base.
About the Australian Digital Health Agency
The Agency is tasked with improving health outcomes for all Australians through the delivery of digital healthcare systems, and implementing Australia’s National Digital Health Strategy – Safe, Seamless, and Secure: evolving health and care to meet the needs of modern Australia in collaboration with partners across the community. The Agency is the System Operator of My Health Record, and provides leadership, coordination, and delivery of a collaborative and innovative approach to utilising technology to support and enhance a clinically safe and connected national health system. These improvements will give individuals more control of their health and their health information, and support healthcare providers to deliver informed healthcare through access to current clinical and treatment information.
Media enquiries for Advance Care Planning Australia
Rebecca Camilleri │ rebecca.camilleri@austin.org.au │ phone: 0407 832 093
Media enquiries for My Health Record
Australian Digital Health Agency media team │ media@digitalhealth.gov.au │ phone: 0428 772 421
[1] Silveira MJ, Kim SY and Langa KM. Advance directives and outcomes of surrogate decision making before death. New England Journal of Medicine. 2010; 362: 1211-8.
[2] White B, Tilse C, Wilson J, et al. Prevalence and predictors of advance directives in Australia. Internal medicine journal. 2014; 44: 975-80.
[3] Detering K, Buck K et al. Prevalence and correlates of advance care directives among older Australians accessing health and residential aged care services: multicentre audit study
[4] Australian Bureau of Statistics. Deaths, Australia, 2016. Available at http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/mf/3302.0 (last accessed 17 April 2018).
[5] Detering KM, Hancock AD, Reade MC and Silvester W. The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: randomised controlled trial. Bmj. 2010; 340: c1345.
Here is the link:
Most of this information is spot on. It is vital to have your close relatives fully aware of what you want to happen if you face serious illness or death.
There are two scenarios – if you are unconscious then your relatives etc. will be asked, and believed, as to what you want – no doctor I know would go hunting in the #myHR to see what it said, they will act as the relatives desire. It is up to the patient to make sure the relatives are sensible and well-informed enough to follow your clearly expressed preferences.
Additionally, if your are unconscious, and there are no relatives then you will treated until your wishes can be established – so if you want your ACD from your #myHR to have some effect you better have something in your wallet that tells them to look there! That point seems to have been left out here.
Of course if you are conscious you can speak for yourself so problem solved.
So having an ACD is a very good idea. Having your nearest and dearest know what you want is also a very good idea. Putting a copy in the MyHealthRecord is sensible only if you feel you may die alone, want your wishes followed and then you need to make sure you have about your person something that says the myHR is the place to look for your ACD! Good luck with having all that come together in a busy emergency department.
Another case of the solution (the myHR) looking for problem I believe for most situations, although I do agree in some situations it may just help. If you are really concerned a Medic Alert bracelet may be a better option.
As for evidence that this idea actually works – I have seen none – has anyone?
David.
A simple person centric smart device will be suffice for the majority. Those that this won’t assist are most likely the same cohort that the MyHR or any other online service will not help. Perhaps that can be done through the post office or other outlet that supports offline transactions.
ReplyDeleteAs for direct, we’ll things are certainly being nudged in an uphill direction