A new study published today in the Journal of Hospital Medicine found that patients who talk with their physicians about end-of-life care and have an advance directive in their medical record have similar survival rates as patients who do not have these discussions and documents.
Lead researcher Stacy M. Fischer, MD of the University of Colorado School of Medicine said: “Our findings are reassuring. They support health care providers, who can initiate these discussions, and policy makers, who seek to reimburse these time consuming discussions, but most importantly, our findings are reassuring for patients and families who desire these discussions with their health care providers.”
The results of this study was published in Medical News on September 28, 2011.