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The Conversation Project 
 June 25, 2019
Conversation Ready: Engaging Patients in Advance Care Planning


Did you know that 80% of people surveyed say that if seriously ill, they would want to talk to their doctor about end-of-life care, yet only 18% actually have this conversation?

Many institutions do not have systems to reliably engage with patients in order to:
  • Understand what is most important for their end-of-life care
  • Become stewards of this information
  • Record, access, and respect these wishes in a timely way
Becoming  Conversation Ready is an effort to provide more patient-centered care by gaining an understanding of what matters most to patients when it comes to end-of-life care.  Structured around the aims of  The Conversation Project , the Institute for Healthcare Improvement is offering a virtual training that teaches the five principles of being Conversation Ready.

New Kit Format


Here at The Conversation Project, we make it a point to listen to the requests and suggestions for improvement from our constituents. Over the past year, many people have expressed the need for our  Kits to be more printer-friendly. We recently updated our Kits to minimize the amount of color included on the front cover and pages within the Kit. We hope this new update reduces the concerns around printing in bulk. Please let us know your thoughts and/or if you have any other suggestions: conversationproject@ihi.org.
Integrating End-of-Life Conversations into Professional Services Work: Getting Started


No matter what professional services group you fall under (financial services, legal services, estate planning, insurance), one thing is certain: supporting your clients and their well-being is your top priority. Many professional service groups recognize that integrating The Conversation Project Conversation Starter Kits and other resources into their practice is one way to support and build deeper relationships with their clients and the next generation. 

Click here to access this one-pager designed to support you as you bring the conversation to your clients.
Developing Terminology to Help Patients and Families Feel Comfortable Having the Conversation


At their May 16th summit, the  Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care  shared the results of their messaging research project. Join our community call on July 17th as they share these latest findings and learning from their summit, including tested language for engaging the broader public, as well as targeted "segments" of the population, in conversations about what really matters to their life and health. Also, read more about the key findings from their research and access the slides from the summit here.


The Big Picture


"You may say this sounds morbid, especially if I'm not dealing with an illness or anything, but the best time to make your wishes is when you're in good health! That's what my grandma did and she left a great example to follow.... "

Read this blog piece by a young woman who shares the lovely story of her late grandmother who left behind an example to follow: make your wishes known and make them very clear.
Download Our Free Kits & Order in Bulk!

The Conversation Starter Kit is a useful tool to help you have the conversation with a family member, friend, or other loved one about your - or their - wishes regarding end-of-life care. It is available in several languages.  All of the Starter Kits are available to download and print for free.


News Round Up: What We're Reading
Want to connect? Email us at ConversationProject@ihi.org 


STAY CONNECTED:
The Conversation Project is dedicated to helping people talk about their wishes for end-of-life care. Our free Starter Kit can help you talk to your loved ones about this difficult topic.