The Seventh Annual National Healthcare Decisions Day will be observed on Wednesday, April 16, with the goal of inspiring, educating and empowering the public and doctors about the importance of advance care planning.  The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) has been a longtime advocate for advance care planning and encourages our members to “Begin the Conversation” and help guide their patients to do so. The Lower Cape Fear Hospice and Lifecare Center has a website at begintheconversation.org, which offers a wealth of user-friendly information and resources for you and your patients. The NCMS has worked closely with the Lower Cape Fear Hospice as part of the North Carolina Partnership for Compassionate Care (NCPCC).

As the organization spearheading the Toward Accountable Care (TAC) Consortium and Initiative, the NCMS also realizes that end-of-life care has a huge impact on quality and cost of health care in the value-driven, ACO model. The TAC consortium’s soon-to-be-released Hospice & Palliative Care Toolkit details the important role this specialty plays in an accountable care organization. Already, in advance of its release, the Toolkit has garnered national attention for illustrating the importance of end-of-life decision-making as part of a holistic approach to health care. Watch the TAC website for news on the initiative and for the Hospice & Palliative Care Toolkit.