Do geriatricians practice what they preach?: geriatricians' personal establishment of advance directives

Abstract

Previous research has been conducted regarding preferences of physicians for life-sustaining treatments for themselves, but there is a dearth of data on personal use of advance directives (ADs) by geriatricians specifically. Using a phone survey, we contacted all graduates of the geriatric fellowship program to assess their personal use of advance directives and their personal preferences for life-sustaining treatment. Of the 124 living graduates of the Parker Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation, 70 agreed to participate. One third of respondents had established ADs for themselves, with higher rates in women than men (p = .054). Older geriatricians were significantly more likely to have advance directives (exact trend test yields, p < .0001). In general, respondents did not inform their health care providers about their desires for end-of-life care. This study revealed that the majority of fellowship-trained geriatricians did not formally establish advance directives for themselves. Further research is needed to determine whether physicians who establish advance directives for themselves are more likely to encourage their patients to do so.