Resources

WIHI: Who's Your Health Care Proxy?

Date: April 6, 2017

Featuring:

Kate DeBartolo, National Field Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and The Conversation Project (TCP)
Suzanne Salamon, MD, Associate Chief, Gerontology Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, Resident in Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston)
Fiona McCaughan, RN, MS, Cambridge Health Alliance

None of us likes to imagine being unable able to speak for ourselves when it comes to our health care. But situations arise throughout our lives when we need a trusted person to communicate with doctors and nurses on our behalf. And, if we are facing care decisions near the end of life, a trusted proxy can play a crucial role ensuring our wishes are respected. So, does everyone have a documented health care proxy? In all likelihood, no, or not yet, which is why there are numerous efforts underway to close this gap.

The Conversation Project, a five-year-old grassroots initiative based at IHI, has just published a new, free resource it believes can help: How to Choose a Health Care Proxy & How to Be a Health Care Proxy. We learned more about this latest proxy kit and the issues surrounding choosing a health care proxy on the April 6 WIHI: Who’s Your Health Care Proxy?

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WIHI: Who's Your Health Care Proxy?

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