Pre-visit intervention found to improve doctor-patient conversations about goals of care

A study of physician-patient communication and engagement found patients and doctors talked more about their goals for care when readied for such a conversation before an outpatient visit. The researchers also found an increase in patient-reported quality of those discussions. The study asked patients about preferences, barriers and facilitators to communicate about end-of-life care and created a personalized sheet to prepare the clinician for the appointment. A separate patient-specific, one-page document was also sent to the patient. The researchers found this type of intervention helped patients with serious illness and outpatient clinicians to increase goals-of-care conversations. An associated commentary says physicians question when and how to start discussing goals with seriously ill patients. The authors believe patients with serious illnesses often don’t receive the care that mirrors their goals, hurting quality of life.