Medicine today represents a partnership between physicians, other health care providers, and most important, patients. The American Medical Association (AMA) is committed to answering the question, Is this good medicine? in regard to everything physicians do with their patients. We believe that this is "good medicine" and encourage every physician to incorporate advance care planning into the routine care provided to each patient.
American Medical Association, 2001

Less than 25 percent of Americans have expressed their thoughts in writing about how they wish to be cared for at the end of life. Most people avoid the subject. Physicians may wait for patients to initiate the discussion, find themselves too busy to engage in lengthy conversations, or feel unprepared to broach the topic with their patients. The Health Care Decisions project is encouraging individuals in our community to take the initiative and make reasoned choices in advance, easing the stress on them and their families.

Advance Care Planning makes sound clinical sense. Open and honest discussions with patients about their health care wishes engender a sense of mutual respect. The patient / physician relationship improves. Decisions are more likely to be satisfactory to all concerned when the patient, the patient's family, and the physician, are involved in a process to create a common expectation and understanding of the patient's health care wishes.

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