April 16, 2014 – Ontario’s doctors are helping to mark Advance Care Planning Day today by encouraging everyone to take a moment and consider their end-of-life wishes.
Advance care planning starts with thinking about your wishes, values and beliefs about the health care you would want if you were ever incapable of making decisions for yourself, and then talking about them with loved ones.
“A medical crisis is always going to be a terrible time for a family, but having simple discussions about what’s important to you can reduce the stress for everyone,” said Dr. Scott Wooder, president of the Ontario Medical Association. “This ensures you get the all of medically appropriate treatment you would want and that you don’t get any treatment that you wouldn’t want.”
Advance care planning can be as simple as:
Research shows that families who have to make tough decisions for a family member feel less guilt and more confident in their decisions when they know a person’s wishes instead of trying to guess.
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