IU awarded $2.2M grant to study end-of-life planning tool

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) has received a $2.2 million grant to study the use of an advance-care planning tool that will help ensure residents' end-of-life treatment preferences are upheld. Researchers will monitor how well the Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) tool reflects resident treatment preference and how well the residents understand the choices they make.

POST is for residents near end-of-life. Preferences for life-sustaining treatments and medical interventions are documented as medical orders on the POST form. The form is then reviewed by a doctor and activated. The form follows the resident throughout the healthcare system and the orders are valid in all settings, according to an IUPUI press release.

Research will target the use of the POST form in nursing homes because many residents with advanced disease live and receive care there. 

"My goal is to help support patients and families in thinking about what kinds of care they do and don't want and to help them plan ahead," lead researcher Susan Hickman said in the release.  

Read more about the study here.

Megan Combs

Megan Combs was Associate Editor of I Advance Senior Care / Long Term Living from 2013-2018.