News

Massachusetts is building a state electronic registry to allow clinicians timely and trusted access to the medical forms that document patients' preferences for care near the end of life, thanks to contributions from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care.

"This electronic registry – a trusted, single source of truth - is a critical part of ensuring that everyone in Massachusetts receives care that supports their priorities," said Andrew Dreyfus, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and founding member of the Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care. "Far too often, people don't get the care they want. It was clear there was a huge opportunity to improve this part of the health care infrastructure so that clinicians all over the state can quickly access patients' documented preferences for their care when it matters most."

Just published in JAMA Psychiatry, Maninder K. Kahlon and colleagues conducted a randomized clinical trial to see if empathetic conversations by telephone could reduce loneliness, depression, and anxiety in at-risk older adults. The answer? A resounding yes.

The National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine (NASEM)'s Roundtable on Quality Care for People with Serious Illness hosted a webinar in late January on “Serious Illness Care, Structural Racism, and Health Disparities in the Era of COVID-19”.

The Coalition has embarked on an ambitious four-phase consumer research project that centers on equity using participatory design methods. The goal is to identify new messaging, communications, as well as meaningful community and/or clinical strategies to improve serious illness care experiences of at-risk populations. Read more about each phase, and our findings from starting with the community.

In this issue:

• Movement at our medical schools
• Join the Massachusetts Caregiver Coalition
• In case you missed it in our Twitter feed...

The Coalition’s 2018 consumer research found that just 13% of Massachusetts adults report having a conversation with their doctor about the kind of end-of-life care they wanted. Part of the problem may be that the topic of death is just so hard to talk about, for both the patient and the doctor. “One of the things we hear really commonly is that people just don’t have a good understanding of what the road ahead looks like when they’re very sick,” said Anna Gosline, the Coalition’s director. “And so when you don’t have a really good understanding of what your prognosis is and what’s going to happen to you, it’s really difficult to know what to do or not do…”

In this issue:

• A message from Anna
• New Workbook: What Matters to Me
• More than a Visit: Inclusion of Essential Care Partners in a time of COVID
• JPSM Call to Address Systemic Racism

In this issue:

• A new voice at the Coalition
• Thinking differently about Advance Care Planning
• Continuing the dialogue about e-MOLST

Guidelines for balancing safety, connection, and well-being during COVID

In this issue:

• Join us for a virtual discussion on Massachusetts' new e-MOLST portal
• We're offering 20% off the course Shifting Deathcare, from Going with Grace
• Welcome to three new members: Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, Our Odyssey, and NorthStar Health Navigation!