The effect of advance care planning on completion of advance directives and patient satisfaction in people with HIV/AIDS

The effects of advance care planning are poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of an advance care planning intervention on the completion of advance directives (ADs) and patient satisfaction. A volunteer sample of persons with HIV/AIDS received advance directive documents, watched an educational video and received individual counselling on completing an advance directive during three face-to-face interviews over approximately six months. The advance care planning intervention was associated with an increase in advance directive completion rates from 16.4% to 40.7% (p = 0.001), but 23.1% of advance directives reported as completed were legally invalid. There was a trend towards decreased overall patient satisfaction with health care (p = 0.07). Advance are planning increases the rate of AD completion but many 'completed' advance directives are legally invalid. Advance care planning did not improve patient satisfaction with health care.     

The effectiveness of interventions to increase advance directive completion rates

OBJECTIVE: Despite federal and state laws governing advance directives (ADs), interventions to increase rates of legally completed ADs have not produced significant results. This study synthesizes the state of the science regarding effectiveness of interventions to increase AD completion rates. METHODS: Garrard's method for conducting a systematic literature review was followed. In all, 25 studies meeting inclusion criteria were reviewed. Interventions fell into two types: (a) didactic-information distributed through an educational program or clinical encounter or by a mailing and (b) interactive-person-to-person interaction where participants had the opportunity to ask questions and/or receive assistance completing the forms. RESULTS: Postintervention rates of AD completion were: didactic = no change to 34% increase; interactive = 23% to 71% increase. DISCUSSION: Education without the ability to ask questions does not significantly increase the AD completion rate. Didactic interventions did not usually increase completion rates higher than the predicted average rate for the general population.     

Advance directives and emergency department patients: ownership rates and perceptions of use

Abstract
Background: Advance directives (ADs) are rarely avail­able in Australia to guide management but may become more important as our population ages.
Aims: The present study aimed to determine patient knowledge, perception and ownership rates of ADs and the factors that impact upon these variables.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey of emergency department patients was undertaken. The main outcome measures were: (i) prior discussion about the extent of medical treatment and ADs, (ii) knowledge and perceptions of ADs, (iii) present AD ownership rates and (iv) likelihood of future AD ownership. Generalized linear models were used for analysis.
Results: Four hundred and three patients were enrolled. The mean age of patients was 73 years and 239 (59.3%) were male. Two hundred and forty patients (59.6%) had discussed the extent of treatment. Only 81 patients (20.1%) had discussed the use of an AD. One hundred and thirty-seven patients (34.0%) knew of one type of AD and 333 patients (82.6%) thought some ADs were a good idea. Only 32 patients (7.9%) owned an AD, although 276 (68.5%) would consider owning one. The main reason for never obtaining an AD was 'always wanting full treatment' (93 patients, 23.1%). Level of education was the only characteristic that impacted significantly upon an outcome measure. Patients with a higher level of education were more likely to have known and spoken about ADs, to own an AD and to consider owning one.
Conclusions: AD knowledge and ownership rates were low. However, most patients perceive them favourably and many would consider owning one. Intervention strategies to improve AD awareness are indicated. This may empower patients to more effectively participate in their own advance care planning. (Intern Med J 2003; 33: 586−592)     

Patient knowledge and physician predictions of treatment preferences after discussion of advance directives

OBJECTIVE: To determine patient knowledge about life-sustaining treatments and physician understanding of patient preferences for proxies and treatments after outpatient discussions about advance directives. DESIGN: Cross-sectional interview-based and questionnaire-based survey. SETTING: Two university general internal medicine practices, two Department of Veterans Affairs general internal medicine practices, and one university-based geriatrics practice, in two different cities. PATIENTS: Fifty-six patients of primary care internists. INTERVENTION: Physicians discussed “advance directives” (ADs) with one randomly selected patient during an outpatient visit. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: After the discussions, physicians identified the patient’s proxy and predicted the patient’s preferences for treatment in 20 scenarios. Patients provided treatment preferences in the 20 scenarios, the name of their preferred surrogate decision maker, and their understanding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation and mechanical ventilation. Of the 39 patients who discussed resuscitation, 43% were able to identify two important characteristics; 26% identified none; 66% did not know that most patients need mechanical ventilation after undergoing resuscitation. None of the 43 patients who had a discussion about mechanical ventilation had a good understanding of it; 67% did not know that patients generally cannot talk while on ventilators; 46% expressed serious misconceptions about ventilators. There was poor agreement between physicians and their patients regarding treatment preferences in 18 of 20 scenarios (κ ?0.04 to 0.31). Physicians correctly identified the proxy 89% of the time (κ 0.78). CONCLUSIONS: Patients leave routine AD discussions with serious misconceptions about life-sustaining treatments. Physicians are unable to predict treatment preferences but do learn about patients’ preferences for surrogate decision makers.     

Why Would Caregivers Not Want to Treat Their Relative's Alzheimer's Disease?

OBJECTIVES: To determine family caregivers' willingness to use Alzheimer's disease (AD)-slowing medicines and to examine the relationships between this willingness, dementia severity, and caregiver characteristics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: In-home interviews of patients from the Memory Disorders Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania's Alzheimer's Disease Center. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred two caregivers of patients with mild to severe AD who were registered at an Alzheimer's disease center. MEASUREMENTS: Subjects participated in an in-home interview to assess their willingness to use a risk-free AD-slowing medicine and a medicine with 3% annual risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. RESULTS: Half of the patients had severe dementia (n=52). Seventeen (17%) of the caregivers did not want their relative to take a risk-free medicine that could slow AD. Half (n=52) did not want their relative to take an AD-slowing medicine that had a 3% annual risk of gastrointestinal bleeding. Caregivers who were more likely to forgo risk-free treatment of AD were older (odds ratio (OR)=1.7, P=.04), were depressed (OR=3.66, P=.03), had relatives living in a nursing home (OR=3.6, P=.02), had relatives with more-severe dementia according to the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) (OR=2.29, P=.03) or Dementia Severity Rating Scale (DSRS) (OR=2.55, P=.002), and rated their relatives' quality of life (QOL) poorly on a single-item global rating (OR=0.25, P=.001) and the 13-item quality-of-life (QOL)-AD scale (OR=0.38, P=.002). Caregivers who were more likely to forgo a risky treatment were nonwhite (OR=6.53, P=.005), had financial burden (OR=2.93, P=.02), and rated their relative's QOL poorly on a single-item global rating (OR=0.61, P=.01) and the QOL-AD (OR=0.56, P=.01). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that caregivers are generally willing to slow the progression of their relative's dementia even into the severe stage of the disease, especially if it can be done without risk to the patient. Clinical trials and practice guidelines should recognize that a caregiver's assessment of patient QOL and the factors that influence it affect a caregiver's willingness to use AD-slowing treatments.     

Prevalence and predictors of abnormal arterial function in statin-treated type 2 diabetes mellitus patients

Arterial dysfunction (AD) in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) predicts cardiovascular events. The objective was to investigate the prevalence and predictors of AD in statin-treated T2DM patients. We measured flow-mediated (FMD) and nitrate-mediated (NMD) brachial artery dilatation in 86 statin-treated T2DM patients. Patients were classified into 2 groups: normal arterial function (FMD ≥3.7% with NMD ≥11.9%) or AD (FMD <3.7% with or without NMD <11.9%). Endothelial dysfunction without smooth muscle cell dysfunction (ED) was defined as FMD less than 3.7% with NMD of at least 11.9%, and endothelial dysfunction with smooth muscle cell dysfunction (ED/SMD) was defined as FMD less than 3.7% with NMD less than 11.9%. Predictors of arterial function were investigated using linear and logistic regression methods. The prevalence of AD was 33.7% (23.2% with ED and 10.5% with ED/SMD). In multivariate linear regression, history of hypertension (P < .01), statin dose (P < .05), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (P = .02) were significant predictors of FMD. Sex (P < .01) and creatinine (P = .03) or eGFR (P = .02) predicted NMD. In multivariate logistic regression, the independent predictors of AD were history of hypertension (odds ratio [OR], 8.79; 95% confidence interval, 2.14-36.12; P < .01), age (OR, 1.08; 1.01-1.17; P = .03), and statin dose (OR, 0.33; 0.12-0.87; P = .02). A history of hypertension (OR, 8.99; 1.87-43.26; P < .01) was the sole independent predictor of ED; eGFR (OR, 0.01; 0.00-0.26; P < .01) independently predicted ED/SMD. Our data suggest that one third of statin-treated diabetic patients have residual AD, mainly due to ED alone. Earlier identification and treatment of hypertension and renal impairment may improve AD and further decrease cardiovascular risk in such patients.     

Advance directives as acts of communication: a randomized controlled trial

BACKGROUND: Instructional advance directives are widely advocated as a means of preserving patient self-determination at the end of life based on the assumption that they improve surrogates' understanding of patients' life-sustaining treatment wishes. However, no research has examined whether instructional directives are effective in improving the accuracy of surrogate decisions. PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: A total of 401 outpatients aged 65 years or older and their self-designated surrogate decision makers (62% spouses, 29% children) were randomized to 1 of 5 experimental conditions. In the control condition, surrogates predicted patients' preferences for 4 life-sustaining medical treatments in 9 illness scenarios without the benefit of a patient-completed advance directive. Accuracy in this condition was compared with that in 4 intervention conditions in which surrogates made predictions after reviewing either a scenario-based or a value-based directive completed by the patient and either discussing or not discussing the contents of the directive with the patient. Perceived benefits of advance directive completion were also measured. RESULTS: None of the interventions produced significant improvements in the accuracy of surrogate substituted judgment in any illness scenario or for any medical treatment. Discussion interventions improved perceived surrogate understanding and comfort for patient-surrogate pairs in which the patient had not completed an advance directive prior to study participation. CONCLUSIONS: Our results challenge current policy and law advocating instructional advance directives as a means of honoring specific patient wishes at the end of life. Future research should explore other methods of improving surrogate decision making and consider the value of other outcomes in evaluating the effectiveness of advance care planning.     

Effects of candesartan compared with amlodipine in hypertensive patients with high cardiovascular risks: candesartan antihypertensive survival evaluation in Japan trial

The Candesartan Antihypertensive Survival Evaluation in Japan Trial was designed to compare the long-term effects of the angiotensin II receptor blocker candesartan and the calcium channel blocker amlodipine on the incidence of cardiovascular events, represented as a composite of sudden death and cerebrovascular, cardiac, renal, and vascular events in high-risk Japanese hypertensive patients. We conducted a prospective, randomized, open-label study with blinded assessment of the end point in 4728 Japanese hypertensive patients (mean age: 63.8 years; mean body mass index: 24.6 kg/m(2)). Patients were followed for an average of 3.2 years. Blood pressure was well controlled with both treatment-based regimens (systolic blood pressure/diastolic blood pressure: 136.1/77.3 mm Hg for candesartan-based regimens and 134.4/76.7 mm Hg for amlodipine-based regimens after 3 years). Primary cardiovascular events occurred in 134 patients with both the candesartan- and amlodipine-based regimens. The 2 treatment-based regimens produced no significant differences in cardiovascular morbidity or mortality in the high-risk Japanese hypertensive patients (hazard ratio: 1.01; 95% CI: 0.79 to 1.28; P=0.969). In each primary end point category, there was no significant difference between the 2 treatment-based regimens. New-onset diabetes occurred in fewer patients taking candesartan (8.7/1000 person-years) than in those taking amlodipine (13.6/1000 person-years), which resulted in a 36% relative risk reduction (hazard ratio: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.43 to 0.97; P=0.033). We disclosed that candesartan-based and amlodipine-based regimens produced no statistical differences in terms of the primary cardiovascular end point, whereas candesartan prevented new-onset diabetes more effectively than amlodipine.     

Physicians' Views on the Importance of Patient Preferences in Surrogate Decision‐Making

OBJECTIVES: To explore the degree to which physicians report reliance on patient preferences when making medical decisions for hospitalized patients lacking decisional capacity. DESIGN: Cross‐sectional survey. SETTING: One academic and two community hospitals in a single metropolitan area. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred eighty‐one physicians who recently cared for hospitalized adults. MEASUREMENTS: A self‐administered survey addressing physicians' beliefs about ethical principles guiding surrogate decision‐making and physicians' recent decision‐making experiences. RESULTS: Overall, 72.6% of physicians identified a standard related to patient preferences as the most important ethical standard for surrogate decision‐making (61.2% identified advanced directives and 11.4% substituted judgment). Of the 73.3% of physicians who reported recently making a surrogate decision, 81.8% reported that patient preferences were highly important in decision‐making, although only 29.4% reported that patient preference was the most important factor in the decision. Physicians were significantly more likely to base decisions on patient preferences when the patient was in the intensive care unit (odds ratio (OR)=2.92, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.15–7.45) and less likely when the patient was older (OR=0.76 for each decade of age, 95% CI=0.58–0.99). The presence of a living will, prior discussions with the patient, and the physicians' beliefs about ethical guidelines did not significantly predict the physicians' reliance on patient preferences. CONCLUSION: Although a majority of physicians identified patient preferences as the most important general ethical guideline for surrogate decision‐making, they relied on a variety of factors when making treatment decisions for a patient lacking decisional capacity.     

A Comparative,Retrospective, Observational Study of the Prevalence,Availability, and Specificity of Advance Care Plans in a County that Implemented an Advance Care Planning Microsystem

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether outcomes have changed over time for a managed, systematic approach to advance care planning (ACP). DESIGN: Retrospective comparison of medical record and death certificate data of adults who died over a 7‐month period in 2007/08 with those of adults who died over an 11‐month period in 1995/96. SETTING: All healthcare organizations in La Crosse County, Wisconsin. PARTICIPANTS: Five hundred forty adults who died in 1995/96 and 400 adults who died in 2007/08. INTERVENTION: A systematic ACP approach, Respecting Choices, collaboratively implemented in 1993 and continuously improved in subsequent years. MEASUREMENTS: Demographic and cause‐of‐death data were collected from death certificates. Type and content of any advance directive (AD), existence and content of Physician Orders for Life‐Sustaining Treatment, and medical treatment provided at the location of death in the last 30 days of life were abstracted from the medical record. RESULTS: The recent data show a significantly greater prevalence of ADs (90% vs 85%, P=.02) and of availability of these directives in the medical record at the time of death (99.4% vs 95.2%, P<.001) than the data collected over 10 years ago. The new data suggest that quality efforts have improved the prevalence, clarity, and specificity of ADs. CONCLUSION: A system for ACP can be managed in a geographic region so that, at the time of death, almost all adults have an advance care plan that is specific and available and treatment is consistent with their plan.     

Wellness in Sickness and Health (The W.I.S.H. Project): Advance Care Planning Preferences and Experiences Among Elderly Latino Patients

Objective: To assess advance care planning (ACP) preferences, experiences, and comfort in discussing end-of-life (EOL) care among elderly Latinos.

Methods: Patients aged 60 and older from the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California (LAC+USC) Medical Center Geriatrics Clinic (n = 41) participated in this intervention. Trained staff conducted ACP counseling with participants in their preferred language, which included: (a) pre-counseling survey about demographics and EOL care attitudes, (b) discussion of ACP and optional completion of an advance directive (AD), and (c) post-session survey.

Results: Patients were primarily Spanish speaking with an average of 2.7 chronic medical conditions. Most had not previously documented (95%) or discussed (76%) EOL wishes. Most were unaware they had control over their EOL treatment (61%), but valued learning about EOL options (83%). Post-counseling, 85% reported comfort discussing EOL goals compared to 66% pre-session, and 88% elected to complete an AD. Nearly half of patients reported a desire to discuss EOL wishes sooner.

Conclusions: Elderly Latino patients are interested in ACP, given individualized, culturally competent counseling in their preferred language.

Clinical Implications: Patients should be offered the opportunity to discuss and document EOL wishes at all primary care appointments, regardless of health status. Counseling should be completed in the patient’s preferred language, using culturally competent materials, and with family members present if this is the patient’s preference. Cultural-competency training for providers could enhance the impact of EOL discussions and improve ACP completion rates for Latino patients.     

Do white matter changes have clinical significance in Alzheimer's disease?

BACKGROUND: Although white matter changes visible with MRI are generally considered to result from ischemia, it has become clear that these changes also appear in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, their significance in AD is unknown. OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the clinical significance of white matter changes in AD. METHODS: Ninety-six AD patients (79.4 +/- 5.92 years old) and 48 age-matched control subjects (80.0 +/- 7.03 years old) participated in the study. Three neuroradiologists assessed the degree of periventricular hyperintensities (PVH) and deep white matter hyperintensities (DWMH) using a modified Fazekas' rating scale. We examined whether there was a difference in the severity and the histogram pattern of the white matter changes, or in vascular factors (hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and ischemic heart disease) between the two groups. We also analyzed the association between the severity of the white matter changes and the degree of dementia (MMSE score and disease duration). RESULTS: There were no differences in the vascular factors between AD and control subjects. The degree of PVH in AD was severe compared with that in the control subjects. In histograms of the number of subjects with each degree of PVH severity, the distribution of AD patients had peaks at both the low and intermediate degrees of PVH, while most of the controls had a low degree of PVH. There was no difference in the degree or the histogram pattern of DWMH between the two groups. The severity of white matter changes was not associated with severity of dementia in AD. CONCLUSIONS: Although PVH might have several causative factors, and may have some clinical significance, the change itself does not contribute to the progression of AD.     

Predictors of electromechanical dissociation during cardiac arrest

ECG patterns observed during cardiac arrest were analyzed in 261 comatose cardiac arrest survivors. Forty-seven patients (18%) exhibited electromechanical dissociation (EMD) at some point before restoration of stable spontaneous circulation. These patients had a higher mortality (P = .05) and a lower rate of cerebral recovery (P = .01) during the one-year follow-up than study patients who did not exhibit EMD. Patients who developed EMD subsequent to defibrillation had better outcome than patients presenting with EMD. Multivariate analysis revealed that age more than 70 years old (P = .007), pulmonary disease (P less than .001), diabetes (P = .013, in-hospital arrests only), and prearrest hypoxemia (P = .013, outside-hospital arrests only) were independently predictive of the occurrence of EMD. Although the generalizability of these findings is limited, they may offer new clues to the pathophysiology of EMD.     

Who will make health care decisions for me when I can't?

Medical professionals are increasingly faced with ethical dilemmas of caring for older patients who are decisionally incapacitated. Most often they rely on family to serve as surrogate decision makers. Does that practice agree with the preferences of the elderly themselves? Examined are the exploratory and qualitative findings of a sample of men and women, age 65 to 91 (N = 71). Comparisons are made between those elderly who have families and those who do not have families regarding the use of and interest in advance directives and proxy appointments. The findings suggest that elderly persons with families prefer to rely on relatives to conduct substitute decision making informally, unencumbered by legally executed living wills or proxy documents. Those without families view friends and doctors as their surrogate resource and endorse the use of legal proxy appointments. Implications for the use of advance directives and further public policy are discussed.     

The quality of patient-doctor communication about end-of-life care: a study of patients with advanced AIDS and their primary care clinicians.

OBJECTIVE: To assess prevalence and quality of end-of-life communication between persons with advanced AIDS and their clinicians and to identify patient and clinician characteristics associated with this communication. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study of 57 patients with AIDS and their primary care clinicians. SETTING: University-based and private clinics in Seattle, Washington. PATIENTS: Patients had a prior AIDS-defining illness and a CD4 cell count of less than 100 x 10(6) cells/l. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Quality of patient-clinician communication about end-of-life care, validated against patient satisfaction and patient-clinician concordance on advance directives and treatment preferences. RESULTS: Patients reported they had communication about end-of-life care with their clinician in 31 of 57 cases (54%) while clinicians reported they had this discussion in 36 of 57 cases (64%). Patients and clinicians gave concordant answers in 42 patient-clinician pairs. In 15 pairs (26%), patients and clinicians disagreed about whether end-of-life communication had occurred. African-American and Hispanic patients were less likely to report having communication than non-Hispanic white patients (chi-square analysis: chi2 = 4.67; P < 0.05); injection drug users and women with high-risk sexual partners were less likely to report communication than homosexual or bisexual men (chi2 = 4.67; P < 0.05). A four-item measure of patients' assessment of the quality of communication about end-of-life care had good internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha 0.81) and was significantly correlated with overall satisfaction with medical care (r2 = 0.76; P < 0.0001). Patients with lower income reported lower quality of communication (chi2 = 5.82; P = 0.05). If patients assessed quality of communication as high, their clinicians were more likely to know if the patient had a durable power of attorney for health care (chi2 = 4.95; P = 0.03) but were not more likely to predict patients' preferences for life-sustaining treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Quality of patient-clinician communication about end-of-life care can be measured in a brief questionnaire; higher quality of this communication is associated with higher satisfaction with care and increased clinician knowledge of patients' advance directives. Since socioeconomic status and ethnicity are associated with both the occurrence and quality of this communication, future interventions in end-of-life care should assess the effect of these variables. Given the important and independent goals of improving patient-clinician communication about end-of-life care and improving the quality of care at the end of life, future studies should test interventions to improve the quality of communication and determine whether improving this communication improves the quality of care at the end of life.     

Endovascular stent-graft treatment of aortic dissection: determinants of post-interventional outcome.

AIMS: To investigate the results of endovascular stent-graft placement for the treatment of patients with type B aortic dissection (B-AD). METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 38 patients (62+/-10 years, 32 male) with acute (n=10) and chronic (n=28) type B-AD were treated with endovascular stent-grafts. The implantation procedure was successful in all patients. Peri-procedural non-fatal complications occurred in four (11%) patients. Overall, 4/38 (11%) patients died during the in-hospital period. Patients undergoing stent-graft placement for acute AD had a significantly higher in-hospital mortality than patients with chronic AD (40 vs. 0%, P=0.001). During a median follow-up of 18 (1-57) months, there were six additional deaths. Overall survival rates were 97.4+/-2.6% at 30 days, 80.4+/-6.7% at 1 year, 73.2+/-7.8% at 2 years, and 54.9+/-16.9% at 4 years. Patients with a poor clinical health status (ASA class > 3) had a significantly reduced life expectancy compared with patients with only moderate co-morbidities (ASA class 3) pre-operatively (HR=29.5, 95% CI 1.5-581.9, P=0.026) and increased age (HR=1.1, 95% CI 0.9-1.2, P=0.084) were independent determinants of post-interventional mortality. CONCLUSION: Endovascular stent-graft treatment is a safe alternative for patients with AD. The pre-operative clinical health status of the patient is the most important determinant of post-interventional outcome. Careful patient selection is thus of particular importance.     

Timing of do-not-resuscitate orders for hospitalized older adults who require a surrogate decision-maker

OBJECTIVES: To examine the frequency of surrogate decisions for in‐hospital do‐not‐resuscitate (DNR) orders and the timing of DNR order entry for surrogate decisions. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: Large, urban, public hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Hospitalized adults aged 65 and older over a 3‐year period (1/1/2004–12/31/2006) with a DNR order during their hospital stay. MEASUREMENTS: Electronic chart review provided data on frequency of surrogate decisions, patient demographic and clinical characteristics, and timing of DNR orders. RESULTS: Of 668 patients, the ordering physician indicated that the DNR decision was made with the patient in 191 cases (28.9%), the surrogate in 389 (58.2%), and both in 88 (13.2%). Patients who required a surrogate were more likely to be in the intensive care unit (62.2% vs 39.8%, P<.001) but did not differ according to demographic characteristics. By hospital Day 3, 77.6% of patient decisions, 61.9% of surrogate decisions, and 58.0% of shared decisions had been made. In multivariable models, the number of days from admission to DNR order was higher for surrogate (odds ratio (OR)=1.97, P<.001) and shared decisions (OR=1.48, P=.009) than for patient decisions. The adjusted hazard ratio for hospital death was higher for patients with surrogate than patient decisions (2.61, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.56–4.36). Patients whose DNR orders were written on Day 6 or later were twice as likely to die in the hospital (OR=2.20, 95% CI=1.45–3.36) than patients with earlier DNR orders. CONCLUSION: For patients who have a DNR order entered during their hospital stay, order entry occurs later when a surrogate is involved. Surrogate decision‐making may take longer because of the greater ethical, emotional, or communication complexity of making decisions with surrogates than with patients.     

Effect of spanish interpretation method on patient satisfaction in an urban walk-in clinic

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of Spanish interpretation method on satisfaction with care. DESIGN: Self-administered post-visit questionnaire. SETTING: Urban, university-affiliated walk-in clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Adult, English- and Spanish-speaking patients presenting for acute care of non-emergent medical problems. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Satisfaction with overall clinic visit and with 7 provider characteristics was evaluated by multiple logistic regression, controlling for age, gender, ethnicity, education, insurance status, having a routine source of medical care, and baseline health. "Language-concordant" patients, defined as Spanish-speaking patients seen by Spanish-speaking providers and English-speaking patients, and patients using AT&T telephone interpreters reported identical overall visit satisfaction (77%; P = .57), while those using family or ad hoc interpreters were significantly less satisfied (54% and 49%; P < .01 and P = .007, respectively). AT&T interpreter use and language concordance also yielded similar satisfaction rates for provider characteristics (P > .2 for all values). Compared to language-concordant patients, patients who had family members interpret were less satisfied with provider listening (62% vs 85%; P = .003), discussion of sensitive issues (60% vs 76%; P = .02), and manner (62% vs 89%; P = .005). Patients who used ad hoc interpreters were less satisfied with provider skills (60% vs 83%; P = .02), manner (71% vs 89%; P = .02), listening (54% vs 85%; P = .002), explanations (57% vs 84%; P = .02), answers (57% vs 84%; P = .05), and support (63% vs 84%; P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: Spanish-speaking patients using AT&T telephone interpretation are as satisfied with care as those seeing language-concordant providers, while patients using family or ad hoc interpreters are less satisfied. Clinics serving a large population of Spanish-speaking patients can enhance patient satisfaction by avoiding the use of untrained interpreters, such as family or ad hoc interpreters.     

Promoting advance directives among elderly primary care patients

OBJECTIVE: To determine efficient ways of promoting advance directives among heterogeneous populations of elderly ambulatory patients. DESIGN: One-year quasi-experimental trial. SETTING: Five suburban and urban health centers in one region of a large managed care organization. One additional suburban center served as a control site. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals ages 65 and older (N= 2,120) who were continuously enrolled and had a health maintenance visit with their primary care provider during the study year. INTERVENTION: Physician education (oral and written) and physician and patient prompts to discuss advance directives. MAIN RESULTS: Sixty-six (7.8%) of patients at the intervention centers completed new advance directives, versus 9 of 1,277 (<1%) at the comparison center (P <.001). Patients 75 and older were twice as likely (odds ratio [OR], 2.0; 95% confidence limits [CL], 1.2 to 3.3) as those 65 to 74 to file a new advance directive, and the odds were twice as great (OR, 2.6; 95% CL, 1.4 to 4.6) at centers serving communities with median household income over the state median. Gender, recent hospitalization, emergency room visits, and number of chronic conditions were not related to making new directives nor was predominant ethnicity of the center community (African-American versus white). Adjusted for these factors, the intervention resulted in a 20-fold increase (95% CL, 10.4 to 47.8) in the odds of creating a new advance directive. Doctors reported barriers of time and unwillingness to press discussions with patients. CONCLUSIONS: A replicable intervention largely targeting doctors achieved a modest increase in advance directives among elderly ambulatory patients. Future interventions may need to target lower-income patients, "younger" elderly, and more specifically address doctors' attitudes and comfort discussing advance directives.