- $3,000 to $6,000 annual savings per patient at the end of life1
- Estimated healthcare cost savings in Wisconsin could be $57.2 to $114.4 million annually2
As life expectancy has increased, so too have the multiple complications associated with chronic illnesses in the last years of life. Often the patient is unable to participate in decision making or express their wishes. It has become essential that plans be made in advance and a system established to ensure patients’ wishes are honored.
Gundersen Lutheran Health System is leading the nation with an innovative advance directives program that provides patient-centered healthcare in the end stages of life. Our system increases continuity of care, quality of life and respect for the patient’s decisions, while lowering the cost of care and reducing over utilization of the healthcare system.
Gundersen Lutheran’s approach to advance directives has led to the development of an even broader system for end-of-life care that we’re calling Late Life Primary Care, which encompasses advance directives, palliative care and hospice. When all of these programs work together, the Late Life Primary Care approach can save between $3,000 and $6,000 per patient, per year.
Gundersen Lutheran recommends legislative action to:
- Legally recognize a statewide system of Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST). This system and the appropriate education should be available to everyone in Wisconsin, including medical professionals, patients and families.
1 Center for Outcomes and Policy Research, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
2 http://dhs.wisconsin.gov/deaths/pdf/06deaths.pdf, death rate for persons aged 35-79 is 21,178 deaths. Assume 90% rate of advanced directives for this population to determine cost savings (19,060). $3,000 x 19,060 lives. $6,000 x 19,060.