Differences in presenting advance directives in the chart, in the minimum data set, and through the staff’s perceptions

Purpose: Decisions concerning end-of-life care de-pend on information contained in advance directives that are documented in residents ’ charts in the nursing home. The availability of that information depends on the quality of the chart and on the location of the information in the chart. No research was found that compared directives by the manner in which they are collected and summarized in the chart. The goal of the proposed study was to clarify how advance directives are summarized in the patient’s record and to clarify how physicians perceive the same advance directives and formal orders. Design and Methods: The study involved 122 elderly persons who reside in one large (587 beds) nursing home. The authors collected data regarding the advance directives fro