This organization aims to improve all aspects of end of life care by working to influence public policy and also has a very comprehensive set of action guidelines for clinicians. If these guidelines were put into effect they would immediately improve end of life care dramatically. The website has a well organized links page and downloadable "Action Guides." Plenty of information is available for those who are making end of life decisions and/or want to take action to work for better care. The following is from the website:
A vision of a better system
Imagine a single health care provider talking with a single sick and frightened patient. What do you think that provider could promise - in a care system that really worked the way it should? For patients with advanced stages of serious illnesses, it is just not possible to promise cure or restoration of health. What would matter to such a patient? Here are seven promises that can make a difference, along with action guides for clinicians, benefits managers and purchasers, citizens, and policymakers.
Although most improvement requires a vision of a better world and an intention to change, nothing really improves until someone starts making improvement happen. Now, it's up to you. Let's make the end of life a worthy part of living, a time of confidence, reflection, and meaning whenever it can be. Life can be sweet, even when it is constrained by illness and disability. However, life while seriously ill can also be terrifying, painful, alienating, degrading, and impoverishing. What most of us will experience depends upon community commitment and action. Now is the time to start. Every one of us can do something - this week - to get improvement started.
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