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The Article in Brief
Advance Care Planning Meets Group Medical Visits: The Feasibility of Promoting Conversations
Hillary D. Lum , and colleagues
Background Primary care needs new models to facilitate advance care planning conversations. This study describes a pilot demonstration of a group visit for advance care planning that engages patients in detailed conversations by providing a safe and supportive environment.
What This Study Found Group visits offer a feasible approach for facilitating discussions about advance care planning. Most participants evaluated the group visit as better than usual clinic visits for discussing advance care planning. After two 90-minute sessions, patients reported increases in detailed advance planning conversations. Participants were willing to share personal values and challenges related to advance care planning and initiated discussions about a broad range of related topics.
Implications
- The authors conclude the model warrants further evaluation for effectiveness in improving advance care planning outcomes for patients, clinicians and the health care system.