National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16. Life care planning is an important process. Let others know your values and beliefs so they can make decisions that are right for you if you are unable to make them. Please partner with us to reach out to our communities to help others make their wishes known. DecideYourCare.org is proud to be a participating organization in this initiative to encourage people to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for providers and facilities to respect those wishes, whatever they may be.

The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (www.ahrq.gov), in a 2003 article, “Advance Care Planning: Preferences for Care at the End of Life,” found the following:

• Only 12 percent of patients with an advance directive had received input from their physician in its development.

• Between 65 and 76 percent of physicians whose patients had an advance directive were not aware that it existed.

• Less than 50 percent of patients studied with an advanced illness had an advance directive in their medical record.

Please partner with us in educating our communities about the importance of advance care planning. More information on the national initiative is available here.