End Of Life Care Plan
An end-of-life care plan is an important step towards dignified death and effective palliative care. Learn what to include and more in this informative guide!
Fact Checked by Nate Lacson.
What is an End-of-Life Care Plan template?
An end-of-life care plan, also known as a palliative care or advance care plan, is a comprehensive and personalized document that outlines an individual's preferences for medical treatment, comfort measures, and support during the final stages of life. It aims to ensure that a person's wishes regarding their care, comfort, and dignity are respected and followed when they are no longer able to make decisions themselves.
This document can either be utilized by care staff to track the medical assessments and delivery of comfort care, or it can act as an informative document on the wishes and requirements of the dying individual. This plan is best made in collaboration with family members and loved ones, as well as the individual’s GP so that everyone has a clear picture and understanding of the plan for the best delivery of care. This is an incredibly valuable document and equally unique, making the template a mere guide or beginning for more in-depth discussion and care planning in the future.
An end-of-life care plan typically includes details about the medical interventions an individual desires or wishes to avoid, such as resuscitation, intubation, artificial nutrition, and hydration. The individual preferences for managing pain and symptoms to ensure comfort and quality of life are essential factors to include as well as preferences regarding the location of care, whether at home, in a hospice facility, or a hospital.
This holistic document may also include instructions on emotional and spiritual support, including preferences for religious or cultural practices, counseling, or other forms of emotional support. Attached to this document may be information on legal and financial affairs, such as powers of attorney, wills, and any specific directives regarding estate planning. Although separate documents, it is valuable to view these plans side by side. Preferences around music, visitors, personal decision-making, or specific routines are also important to include.
Creating an end-of-life care plan involves discussions with healthcare providers, family members, and loved ones to ensure that everyone involved understands and respects the individual's wishes. It's an ongoing process that may be updated as preferences change or as the individual's health condition evolves. Having an end-of-life care plan in place helps alleviate stress for both the individual and their loved ones, ensuring that their wishes are known and honored, and providing a sense of control and comfort during a challenging time.
Printable End Of Life Care Plan
Download this End-of-Life Care Plan, which includes details about the medical interventions an individual desires or wishes to avoid.
How does it work?
Step One: Gather your resources
End-of-life care plans are a valuable resource and essential to keep on hand for when the time comes. Make sure that you have a copy of the free printable PDF when the need arises by either clicking the “Download Template” or “Use Template” button or by searching “end of life care plan” on Carepatron’s template library’s search bar on the website or app.
Step Two: Collate essential information
Once the patient has been referred to a palliative care provider or wishes to discuss end-of-life plans, utilizing the end-of-life care plan template to ensure all goals of care are met is both seamless and easily accessible to relevant parties via Carepatron's centralized workspace.
Assessment, symptom management, interventions, and personal wishes can be collated within the single care plan and safely stored on a single database. The care plan allows for individualized commentating on the care offered at the end of life and acts as a scaffolding to ensure the goals of care are met. This can be recorded for future reference or for distribution to other healthcare specialists who are part of the patient's care team.
Step Three: Store the chart securely
After reviewing the end-of-life care plan and creating a viable and individualized plan for the patient, you need to secure the plan so that access is only granted to relevant parties.
Ensure this through Carepatrons HIPAA-compliant free patient records software. Here, all relevant medical records can be safely stored and collated for ease and security.
End Of Life Care Plan example (sample)
Begin important conversations around death care through the utilization of this template. Acquire a free, downloadable, and printable end-of-life care plan template PDF that comes pre-filled with fictional data to help you confidently track your patient's needs or act as an educational tool.
Our crafted sample template is designed to assist you in efficiently utilizing the chart and evaluating care goals for patients who require or wish to form an end-of-life care plan.
Secure your copy by previewing the sample below or clicking the "Download Example PDF" button.
Download this End Of Life Care Plan example:
When would you use this template?
An end-of-life care plan is utilized in various scenarios where an individual faces a terminal illness, progressive decline in health, or situations where curative treatments are no longer effective or desired. Some scenarios where an end-of-life care plan becomes essential include:
Terminal illness
Individuals diagnosed with advanced-stage cancer, end-stage organ failure, or other terminal conditions often engage in end-of-life care planning to ensure their preferences for care and comfort are respected.
Chronic progressive diseases
Conditions like advanced dementia, ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), or advanced heart or lung diseases where the prognosis indicates continued decline without the prospect of recovery often prompt the creation of an end-of-life care plan.
Old age and frailty
Elderly individuals experiencing a decline in health due to age-related frailty or multiple chronic conditions might opt to create an end-of-life care plan to ensure their preferences for care are known and respected.
Life-threatening accidents or trauma
In instances of severe accidents or trauma leading to irreversible brain injury or conditions where recovery is not expected, individuals may have previously documented their wishes in an end-of-life care plan.
Decision-making capacity loss
Individuals who have lost decision-making capacity due to illness or injury might have previously established an advance care plan that outlines their preferences for end-of-life care.
Hospice or palliative care
Individuals transitioning into hospice or palliative care often create or update their end-of-life care plans to ensure their care aligns with their preferences and values.
What does an End Of Life Care Plan involve?
An End-of-Life Care Plan encompasses various elements to ensure a person's preferences for care, comfort, and dignity are respected during the final stages of life. It involves:
Medical preferences
Outlines preferences for medical interventions, such as resuscitation, intubation, artificial nutrition, and hydration. This section clarifies whether an individual wishes to receive certain treatments or prefers comfort-focused care.
Pain and symptom management
Specifies preferences for managing pain and other distressing symptoms to ensure comfort and quality of life.
Location of care
Addresses where the individual wishes to receive care, whether at home, in a hospice facility, hospital, or elsewhere.
Emotional and spiritual support
Outlines preferences for emotional and spiritual support, including religious or cultural practices, counseling, or other forms of emotional support.
Legal and financial affairs
Guides on legal matters, including powers of attorney, wills, and directives regarding estate planning.
Personal preferences
Includes any additional personal wishes or preferences, such as preferred music, visitors, specific routines, or personal items that provide comfort.
Health care proxy or surrogate decision-maker
Identifies a trusted individual to make medical decisions on behalf of the individual if they become unable to make decisions themselves.
Advance directives
May include a living will or healthcare power of attorney, which legally documents an individual's healthcare preferences and appoints a decision-maker if they are unable to communicate.
Discussion and communication
Encourages discussions with healthcare providers, family members, and loved ones to ensure everyone understands and respects the individual's wishes.
Regular review and updates
An end-of-life care plan is a dynamic document that might require updates as preferences change or as the individual's health condition evolves.
Why use Carepatron as Your End of Life Care Plan app?
Selecting Carepatron as your preferred application for creating End of Life Care Plans offers numerous advantages for healthcare practitioners.
Carepatron provides a centralized workspace, allowing you to manage clinical documents and electronic patient records, set patient appointment reminders, and handle medical billing seamlessly and efficiently within the platform, eliminating the need for additional software downloads. This integrated and comprehensive approach simplifies and streamlines processes and tasks related to kidney injury management, care, and various other activities, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to focus most of your time, attention, and effort on patient care.
Carepatron is dedicated to offering a highly efficient and productive platform for thousands of healthcare professionals, allowing you to customize tools and workflows to meet your unique needs. Additionally, it empowers practitioners and patients to manage administrative tasks such as service booking and completing paperwork. The easy sharing of essential documents and data through the app ensures a top-quality customer experience.
We strongly believe in providing radical accessibility, making our app available on any device you have at your disposal. Our portable medical dictation software simplifies clinical note-making and updates, ensuring an effortless process. With great accessibility comes great responsibility, and we prioritize the security of all notes, clinical records, results, and practitioner data by complying with global security requirements, including HIPAA, GDPR, and HITRUST.
References
Koss, C. S., & Baker, T. A. (2018). Where There’s a Will: The Link Between Estate Planning and Disparities in Advance Care Planning by White and Black Older Adults. Research on Aging, 40(3), 281–302. https://doi.org/10.1177/0164027517697116
Rahemi, Z., & Williams, C. L. (2020). Does ethnicity matter—Cultural factors underlying older adults’ end-of-life care preferences: A systematic review. Geriatric Nursing, 41(2), 89–97. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.07.001
Sudore, R. L., & Fried, T. R. (2010). Redefining the “planning” in advance care planning: preparing for end-of-life decision making. Annals of Internal Medicine, 153(4), 256–261. https://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-153-4-201008170-00008
Commonly asked questions
To create effective and comforting end-of-life management, simply create a customized plan from the scaffolding provided by Carepatron to cater to the patient's needs and wishes and safely store them for the future.
These valuable plan templates can be used at any point of the individual's health journey whether they have just received a terminal diagnosis, or have very limited time.
End-of-life care plan templates are used as a planning tool for efficient and confident care delivery. They are designed to be customized and meet the individual patient's needs.
