Serious Illness Conversations
Serious Illness Conversation are clinician facilitated conversations with individuals with a serious illness to determine their goals, values and preferences that then inform the serious illness plan of care.
Studies have shown that a significant number of patients facing serious illnesses express a desire to spend their final days at home, other studies underscore the preference of patients and their families to forgo clinically non beneficial care. Unfortunately, discussions with patients about their goals and wishes often go uninitiated by clinicians or are delayed until the final weeks or days of life.
Our Serious Illness Conversation Training program, based on the Ariadne Labs Structured Communications Guide addresses this gap by equipping clinicians with the necessary knowledge and skills to initiate these crucial conversations earlier in the disease life cycle. This proactive approach empowers patients and their families to actively participate in shaping their remaining time, ensuring that their preferences and goals are acknowledged and honored throughout their healthcare journey.
The goal of Serious Illness Education is to avoid this type of crisis situation by having clinicians initiate these conversations earlier in the disease trajectory. Knowing the individual’s priorities earlier in the illness trajectory, helps to create a plan of care that aligns with the individuals’ goals and values, reduces non-beneficial end of life care and improves patient, family and provider satisfaction