Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients releases advance care planning tools

The Coalition for Supportive Care of Kidney Patients (CSCKP) has released two new tools to assist patients and their kidney care teams in advance care planning. The brochure, “Planning Today for Tomorrow's Healthcare: A Guide for People with Chronic Kidney Disease,” introduces patients and their kidney care teams to the process of advance care planning. It details the five steps of planning that allow patients to have control over their health care in the event that they cannot speak for themselves.

The companion “Curriculum Guide for Advance Care Planning” is designed to assist facility staff in having advance care planning discussions with patients.

These tools were developed as part of the MY WAY Project, which seeks to test the impact of advance care planning coaching on outcomes and health service utilization of patients with chronic kidney disease.

Although advance care planning discussions are associated with improved care, only a small percentage of dialysis patients have an advance care plan, according to the project’s principal investigator Dale Lupu, PhD. The project, which is funded by The Patrick and Catherine Weldon Donaghue Medical Research Foundation, is being conducted by The George Washington University Center for Aging, Health & Humanities, with CSCKP serving as a sub-awardee.

To learn more about CSCKP, visit http://kidneysupportivecare.org.