Hartford Foundation Study Gets Attention on ‘National Healthcare Decisions Day’
National Healthcare Decisions Day, which falls on April 16 every year, offers a chance for people to discuss end-of-life care decisions with their families, putting aside the sorrow or awkwardness the conversation can trigger, said Dr. Dean Tsai, medical director and palliative care physician at Southwest Medical Associates.
The day of discussion arrives on the heels of a new national study in which only 29 percent of physicians surveyed reported having formal training on how to talk to patients and families about end-of-life care.
The survey, released Thursday by philanthropies John A. Hartford Foundation, California Health Care Foundation and Cambia Foundation, showed 46 percent of physicians frequently or sometimes feel unsure of what to say when broaching the subject with patients and families...