Thursday, February 25, 2016, 1 to 2 p.m. EST — Let’s face facts. Talking about dying is difficult. To shift from talking about curative care to palliative care can make people so uncomfortable that they avoid the conversation: patients and families are sometimes reluctant to accept diagnoses and prognoses or have fears about what care may not be provided as part of an end-of-life care plan; and providers are reluctant to deliver bad news and may focus on pursuing curative options rather than shifting the discussion to a patient-centered plan for dying. Furthermore, risk-bearing healthcare payers, like managed care entities, are in danger of being accused of a conflict of interest if they appear to be steering patients into palliative-only care.

However, there is growing evidence that end-of-life planning and value-based end-of-life care is a win-win for patients, providers, and payers – resulting in higher quality care that is aligned with patients’ preferences and eliminates relatively high cost futile care.

During this webinar, HMA experts Sukey Barnum, Laurie Lockert, and Suzanne Mitchell, MD, will build the case for value-based end-of-life care and planning, and provide a roadmap for health plans and providers looking to launch end-of-life care policies and educational programs.