Health Care Quality and Cost Council Celebrates National Health Care Decisions Day

BOSTON, MA — The Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council joined more than 500 organizations nationwide in celebrating today, April 16, as National Health Care Decisions Day, an initiative to raise awareness about the importance of health care decision-making. The goal of this effort, now in its second year, is to ensure that all adults in the United States have both the information and the opportunity to communicate and document their future health care decisions.

Established in 2006 as part of health care reform, the Council is working to develop and coordinate implementation of health care quality improvement goals that are intended to lower or contain the growth in health care costs while improving the quality of care, including at the end of life. These efforts compliment diverse efforts by the Patrick Administration, including reform of the fee-for-service system in favor of one that prioritizes coordinated primary and preventive care.

In its 2008 Annual Report, the Health Care Quality and Cost Council set a goal to develop processes and measures to improve adherence to patients’ wishes in providing care at the end of life. Council members want to ensure that health care providers ask about and follow patients’ wishes with respect to invasive treatments, “do not resuscitate” orders, hospice and palliative care, and other treatments at the end of life.

By documenting their wishes through an advance directive, consumers can ensure that their loved ones and medical providers understand and respect their health care preferences. A “health care power of attorney” (commonly referred to as a “health care proxy”) specifies the person you would like to serve as your voice in your health care decisions, if you cannot speak for yourself. A “living will” documents the kinds of medical treatments you would or would not like to receive at the end of life.

“Talking openly about our wishes at the end of life can be difficult and emotional, but the best time to make decisions and plans for health care is before one becomes seriously ill,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. JudyAnn Bigby, who also chairs the Health Care Quality and Council. “As we mark National Health Care Decisions Day, I hope all adults in the Commonwealth will take time to complete an advance directive and make their health care wishes clear.”

Jim Conway, Senior Vice President at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement and Chair of the Council’s End of Life Subcommittee, added, “We hope that, as a result of our efforts around National Health Care Decisions Day, more Massachusetts residents will have conversations with family, friends and health care professionals about their wishes and take necessary steps, including preparation of advance directives.”

According to a 2005 Pew Research Center survey, public awareness about the need for advance care planning has Americans increasingly likely to think about and planning for their medical treatment in the event of a terminal illness or incapacitating medical condition. The survey found that 95 percent of people have heard of a living will — up from 71 percent in 1990. However, only 29 percent of adults say they have one.

Advance directive forms for Massachusetts adults are available on-line through the Hospice and Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts (www.hospicefed.org). The organization’s website also has a “Values History” form, which can be used to guide discussions and document personal values, beliefs and preferences about end-of-life care. For additional information about advance directives, visit the Partnership for Healthcare Excellence (www.partnershipforhealthcare.org).

About the Health Care Quality and Cost Council

The Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council was established by Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 to establish statewide goals for improving health care quality, containing health care costs, and reducing racial and ethnic disparities in health care and to demonstrate progress toward achieving those goals. In December 2008, the Council launched the nation’s consumer-friendly website (www.mass.gov/myhealthcareoptions) that provides consumers, providers, health plans, employers, policy-makers with comparative health care cost and quality information. For additional information about the Health Care Quality and Cost Council, please visit: www.mass.gov/healthcare.

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