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Dr. Robert M. Wah

Not long past the one-year mark of Terri Schiavo's death, American Medical Association (AMA) members voted to increase efforts to educate patients about the importance of end-of-life planning.

"The tragic case of Terri Schiavo made many Americans acutely aware of the risks associated with not clearly communicating end-of-life decisions, but many are unsure about how to locate information or even begin the process of obtaining an advance directive," said Dr. Robert M. Wah, AMA board member. "Physicians can help patients with these important decisions as they grapple with this difficult topic."

Caring Connections, a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), has been striving to help the public and healthcare professionals learn more about advance care planning. Since Schiavo's death, the toll-free helpline, (800) 658-8898, has responded to more than 77,000 telephone inquiries requesting advance directive information. The program makes available bulk quantities of informational brochures at a nominal cost to healthcare providers.

Jonathan Keyserling, NHPCO vice president of public policy, said the association was pleased with the AMA decision.

"Anytime the medical community focuses its efforts on better educating the patient population, it ought to be applauded," he said. "Caring Connections, www.caringinfo.org, has done a remarkable job making information about end of life care and what it takes to make decisions in this area available to the public. With more than three million Web hits, almost a million downloads and tens of thousands of advance directives mailed out, any additional focus and attempt to educate the public by the AMA is welcome and appreciated."

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