New Survey: Advance Care Planning Is Unfamiliar to Many Americans

A new survey conducted by The Harris Poll and commissioned by health technology innovator Backline by DrFirst reveals a significant disconnect when it comes to advance care planning in the United States. While two-thirds of Americans want their healthcare providers to initiate conversations about documenting their future medical care preferences, only 5% actually have an advance care plan in place.

The survey uncovered some key barriers preventing people from engaging in advance care planning:

• Lack of familiarity: Half of Americans (50%) say they are either not at all familiar with advance care planning (29%) or only know the term (21%).

• Emotional difficulty: 63% find it emotionally challenging to think about their future medical care.

• Perceived complexity: 57% believe the advance care planning process is complicated and/or time-consuming.

• Misconceptions: Over a third (34%) mistakenly think advance care planning is only needed for certain groups of people (e.g., very sick, terminally ill, 65 years of age or older).

Despite these hurdles, the survey highlighted a strong desire for provider-initiated discussions, especially among parents. While 66% of all respondents want their healthcare providers to start the conversation, this number jumps to 74% for parents of children under 18.

Dr. Colin Banas, Chief Medical Officer for Backline by DrFirst, emphasized the importance of having these sensitive but crucial conversations. "Advance care planning is one of the most meaningful gifts you can give your loved ones, sparing them the burden of making difficult decisions during a medical emergency."

The survey also revealed that while 74% have confidence their family knows their healthcare wishes if they can't speak for themselves, only 30% are strongly confident. Alarmingly, 26% lack confidence, with 8% strongly feeling loved ones would not know their preferences.

To help address these barriers, Backline by DrFirst has partnered with Five Wishes and MyDirectives to introduce ACP Complete. This end-to-end advance care planning solution combines secure communication tools, guided documentation and access to digital advance directive forms.

"By removing barriers and making advance care planning more approachable, Backline and its partners aim to empower more Americans to take control of their healthcare future," said Dr. Banas.

The time is now for all of us to start having these important conversations with our loved ones and healthcare providers. Don't wait for a medical crisis to decide - give your family the gift of knowing your wishes today.