Advance care planning (ACP) is a process of discussion involving a patient and his/her caregivers, where loss of future capacity is expected. It is a means of setting on record views, values and specific treatment choices of someone who has a serious and progressive illness. ACP is a complex process and involves more than one intervention and time point.

It is part of everyday practice but has special significance in end-of-life care where loss of decision-making capacity is anticipated. With agreement, discussions should be documented, regularly reviewed and communicated to key persons involved in their care and should involve close companions.

ACP is a key part of quality provision of end-of-life care. Improving the pre-planning of care has been found to be one of the most important ways we can ensure patient-focused care.

Other countries have made good progress with ACP (e.g., the United States and Canada).

There are two overlapping areas within ACP:

• Advance statement
  
• Advance decision