Often, discussions about ACP or referrals to palliative care or hospice do not occur until the patient is near the end of life. Our results indicate that primary care physician's personal and professional experience with ACP may be contributing to some of the barriers to these discussions.

The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of a standardized form used during transfers between long-term care facilities (LTCFs) and the acute care setting. The intervention consisted of development and implementation of the transfer form and education about its use. Charts from 26 LTCFs and 1 acute care hospital were reviewed at 1 and 6 months prior to initiation of the transfer form (2007) and at 1 and 6 months after initiation of the transfer form (2008); 210 patient charts were reviewed in 2007 and 172 in 2008. There was 79% concordance between documented LTCF advance directives (ADs) and hospital ADs in 2008-an increase from 66.6% in 2007 (P = .038). Inpatient hospice/palliative care admissions rose from 1.5% in 2007 to 7.7% in 2009 (P = .015). The standardized transfer form improved communication of ADs between LTCFs and the hospital. Secondarily, it may have increased admissions to the acute palliative care unit.

No abstract