JAMA Viewpoint: Shifting to Serious Illness Communication
The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Network has published a Viewpoint paper, "Shifting to Serious Illness Communication."
"Every day," the authors note, "patients and families engaged in medical decisions toward the end of life experience distress that could have been lessened or even prevented through communication."
Advance care planning, the authors note, "is now considered to be a 'process that supports adults at any age or stage of health in understanding and sharing their personal values, life goals, and preferences regarding future medical care.'" They talk about the validity of this person-centered approach but note that questions remain about which patients, which clinicians, when to start, and the key elements that lead to benefit. The Viewpoint focuses on a "related emerging construct and promising intervention, serious illness communication."
The paper delves into the components of serious illness communication and its benefits, presents some evidence for how serious illness communication affects patient outcomes in the context of palliative care, and discusses areas for further research and next steps for serious illness communication. The latter include for instance, studies to precisely define serious illness communication's "content, dose, and timing," assessed on improving meaningful, valid, and reliable outcomes.
To read the paper, click here.