Facts Are Really Important When Discussing Life And Death Topics. You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know!

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog on the #myHR and Advanced Care Directives.

See here:

https://aushealthit.blogspot.com/2019/11/i-think-adha-might-have-overestimated.html

This was my concluding paragraph:

“Getting your wishes properly honoured takes a good deal more than a .pdf upload to your #myHR! I think there are other and better ways to get what you want, if you are concerned. That said, placing your ACD on the #myHR as a backup can do little harm as long as you are fully aware of the limitations of doing it.”

During the week this appeared:

Nearly a third of Advance Care Directives are invalid

A nationwide study from Advance Care Planning Australia (ACPA), a national program empowering consumers to prepare for important healthcare decisions in the future, has found nearly a third of Advance Care Directives (ACDs) audited in residential aged care facilities around the country were invalid.  

Posted 5 December, 2019

by Liz Alderslade

The research uncovered 30 percent of ACDs of residents in nursing homes had been completed by another person, such as a family member, on behalf of a person that was no longer competent.

Of those documents, around 68 percent had instructions for withholding life-sustaining treatment, like tube feeding or intravenous antibiotics.

Program Director of Advance Care Planning Australia, Linda Nolte, explains that advance care planning is incredibly important for older Australians to continue living their life on their own terms as they grow older.

Ms Nolte says, “However, where a person has dementia or lacks decision-making capacity, advance care planning needs to be navigated carefully and in full adherence of the relevant governing laws, which differ from state to state.

“These findings underscore a broader societal issue that advance care planning needs to start earlier, before people enter care and ideally when they’re well enough to make their own decisions. 

“For many aged care residents entering care, it’s too late to start advance care planning. We urge Australians to plan well, plan early and involve those closest to you.”

ACPA’s research has found that advance care planning is very low in Australia, with 75 percent of people aged 65 and over not completing an Advance Care Directive.

This number is similar for residents in nursing homes with 62 percent of residents over 65 not having a completed ACD on their health record.

ACPA believes that with such a large ageing Australian population, there is a growing expectation that people will continue to make their own medical choices well into their senior years.

Lots more here including 10 recommendations to try and improve things:

https://www.agedcareguide.com.au/talking-aged-care/nearly-a-third-of-advance-care-directives-are-invalid

So it seems we can’t really trust those we can find as about 1/3 of them may be invalid. That makes the whole issue of #myHR holding ADCs even more problematic in my view. I suspect there is a good deal more work to do before this is sensibly sorted! The #myHR should carry a warning of the high risk of error – which rather defeats the purpose.

David.