End-of-Life report reveals physician unease with patient conversations

After more than two years of study and research, the Arizona Medical, Arizona Osteopathic Medical and Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Associations have released their final report on End of Life (EOL) care.  Funding for the report was provided by the associations, Pima County and Maricopa County Medical Societies.

Not surprisingly, the 98-page report reveals there are significant shortfalls surrounding end-of-life care planning, including a low comfort level of physicians in having EOL conversations with patients and a lack of knowledge by the general public about available EOL resources.  The report concludes by providing a series of fixes.

The comprehensive report is available here.