Patient-Centered Advance Care Planning in Dialysis: Phase One

Abstract

Due to the high mortality rates and significant symptom burden of dialysis patients, attention to advance care planning (ACP) has grown in the nephrology community. The optimal system for addressing ACP in dialysis units is not known. We report a quality initiative project utilizing a multidisciplinary ACP team, aiming to address ACP in the outpatient dialysis unit setting in a systematic and timely manner. The results suggest that a dedicated ACP program in the dialysis unit setting is a potentially valuable tool for improving advance directive (AD) completion rates in severely ill dialysis patients. Further research of such patient-centered interventions for improving the quality of care of severely ill dialysis patients is warranted.