Patient Goals and Treatment Preferences

Understanding Patient Goals

• Understanding patients' overall health goals is crucial for improving preoperative conversations and risk assessments by focusing on patient-centered outcomes.
• Embedding verbatim quotes from patients in the 'SSCP' portion of the history and physical helps understand their goals related to care.

Aligning Health Goals and Treatment Preferences

• Patients' overall health goals and healthcare treatment preferences may not always align, emphasizing the need to understand both to treat the whole patient.
• Identifying the impacts of surgical and non-surgical treatment options on the patient's health goals is essential.

Orders for Resuscitative Measures (ORM)

• Cancellation of ORM may occur if the patient or their family changes their mind or if the patient is booked for a surgical procedure.
• The "Mandatory Reassessment or Orders for Resuscitative Measures" policy requires the attending physician to discuss issues related to the etiologies and outcomes of cardiopulmonary arrest during anesthesia.

Code Status and Anesthesia

• The attending physician, patient, and/or caregivers will discuss whether the patient's Code Status will be suspended during anesthesia and surgery.
• The attending physician may contact the Anesthesia department for consultation with the family to ensure health goals and treatment goals align.

Shared Decision Making

• High-quality communication and empowering patients to reflect on their personal health goals are essential for shared decision making.
• The majority of older adults value independent decision making at the end of their lives.