077 Making Advance Care Planning Easier Through PREPARE

In This Episode:

Dr. K talks with geriatrician Rebecca Sudore, MD, an expert in helping older adults address advance directives, end-of-life planning, and other aspects of advance care planning. Dr. Sudore is the creator of PREPARE, an easy-to-use online program designed to help older adults talk about what matters most with family members and health professionals. She is also a Professor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics. They discuss:

Why Dr. Sudore created California’s first easy-to-read advance directive form in 2005
What families in focus groups told her, about making decisions for someone else
Why it’s important to address more than legal forms and end-of-life situations
Why older adults need to discuss what matters to them, with family and with their health providers
How PREPARE uses short videos and worksheets to help older adults think through what matters, and share their values with others
Her research proving that PREPARE does help older adults address planning
Why many older adults don’t address advance planning, and how we might change this
Advance care planning for Alzheimer’s and other dementias
Tips on getting reluctant older parents to talk about their wishes and address their planning
How to find an easy-to-use advance directive for all 50 states on the PREPARE website