Goals of Care

This 5-minute video reviews the different elements of the Patient-centered Priorities and Goals of Care form:

Goals of Care (GOC) discussions occur in the context of a serious illness or condition where there are current or future treatment or care decisions that need to be made. As you go through the Goals of Care form, the following are some key areas to consider:
 

• Is this the first goals of care discussion for this patient, or are you revisiting a previous discussion? If so, indicate this on the form.
• What is the context for this discussion?
• Confirm the patient’s capacity to participate in the discussion and that the right people are involved in the decision making.
  • If the patient does not have capacity, you will need to speak with the person who is authorized to make decisions on their behalf, for example a Delegate or substitute decision-maker (SDM) as outlined in the Nova Scotia Personal Directives Act.
• Goals of Care Supplementary Information and Patient Priorities
  • To the best extent possible, document the pertinent health conditions, recent changes in status (page 2), their views on quality of life and preferences (page 1).
• Level of Intervention
  • Once you have reviewed and discussed the information above, it is important to confirm and document the level of intervention a patient would want/receive should their health decline and specific interventions be an option. This discussion should include provider recommendations about which treatments would be likely to help the patient achieve their goals of care.
• What are the other important considerations for the patient? Document any other details that may help other clinicians interpret the level of intervention or understand the context of the decisions made.