WESTFIELD, N.J., April 05, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- To recognize National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16, the U.S. Advance Care Plan Registry (USACPR) announced steep discounts on its services for the entire month of April. The Registry is offering a 50% discount on its lifetime advance care plan registration. Advance care plan documents, commonly called living wills or advance directives, tell family members and doctors how a patient wants to be treated at the end of life.
"People get confused about which document to complete…a living will, health care proxy, DNR….but the most important thing is to have a conversation with your loved ones. Let them know how you want to be treated when there is no chance for your recovery. After you have the conversation, you can then choose how you want to memorialize what you discussed," said Dr. Joseph Barmakian, an orthopaedic surgeon who founded the Registry. Downloadable forms for each state and many other resources are available on the Registry's website, USACPR.com, to help guide anyone through the conversation with their loved ones and then create the document. "Too many times a family is left to make heartbreaking, guilt-ridden decisions without knowing what their loved ones wanted," he continued. "We are offering this discounted program to encourage everyone to start the process, to sit down at the kitchen table and talk about your wishes," continued Barmakian.
"By definition, this plan is made in advance of when it may be needed, and many people put the document away in a safe place, making it hard to find when it is needed. Our goal is to make your wishes known by making your document available whenever and wherever it is needed," said Barmakian. "We have noticed a huge surge in registrations with the Covid pandemic, as people want to make sure their wishes are clear and available," he added.
The U.S. Advance Care Plan Registry was established in 1996 as the U.S. Living Will Registry, it is the nation's oldest continuously operating advance directive registry. The Registry electronically stores advance care plans and provides them by fax, email or over the Internet to health care providers when they are needed. "Our computers are housed in a state-of-the-art data center with the latest security and backup systems," says Registry CEO Scott Jeffery. "We keep your information and document private and secure, but accessible when needed," continued Jeffery. The Registry stores all types of advance care plan documents, including living wills, advance directives, health care proxies, do not resuscitate, MOLST, POLST, organ donor information and all other types of documents.
A mobile app allows registrants to easily email, fax or download and view their documents when needed. Registrants are also provided a wallet ID card so that health care providers can quickly and easily access their document. There is also a mobile app for emergency care and ambulance personnel that allows them to search for documents by address, so they can view documents before arriving at the home.
For more information visit USACPR.com, or call 1-800-LIV-WILL (800-548-9455).
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