HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS’ UNDERSTANDING OF THE LAW: IMPACT ON ADVANCE CARE PLANNING PROCESSES

Abstract

Health care providers and legal professionals have advocated and supported people through the advance care planning processes for more than a century. These professions have approached advance care planning differently, from within their scope, discipline, and experiences. Neither group fully appreciates the impact their differing standards and practices have on patients and families and the health care they receive. The legal profession focuses on completing advance directive documents and advocates for patients' rights through the courts. Health care providers focus on shared decision making at the time decisions are required. This research, the first of its kind in Canada, will demonstrate the complications that arise for health care providers in the application of advance care planning processes when there are gaps in knowledge and understanding of health law. This study will explore practical suggestions to improve practice. Keywords: Clinical Competence, Jurisprudence, Advance Care Planning, Advance Directives