A Snapshot of Advance Directives in Long-Term Care: How Often Is "Do Not" Done?

Advance directives allow individuals and their families or legal guardians to communicate preferences for interventions and treatments in the event that these individuals are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. This study examines how often do-not-hospitalize (DNH) and do-not-resuscitate (DNR) directives were recorded for residents in 982 reporting Canadian long-term care facilities between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 and, to the extent possible, whether these directives were followed in acute care settings. It found that three-quarters of long-term care residents had a directive not to resuscitate and that these directives appeared to be well followed across the continuum; only 1 in 2,500 residents with a DNR received resuscitation in hospital. Fewer residents - 1 in 5 - had a directive not to hospitalize, and about 1 in 14 (7%) of these residents was admitted to hospital. The data are unable to determine whether patients or their families provided consent for these hospitalizations at the time of a decision to transfer. Close to half of hospitalizations among residents with a DNH directive were from potentially preventable causes, such as injuries or infections. Although hospital transfers from long-term care decreased over the study period, hospitalizations could be further reduced with the enhancement of palliative care services in long-term care settings.