Advance care planning

Advance care planning


What is advance care planning?


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.


Key principles of ACP


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

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Aug 29, 2017 | Posted by in NURSING | Comments Off on Advance care planning

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