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For Individuals & Families

What is Comprehensive Advance Care Planning?

Advance care planning (ACP) is an ongoing process that supports individuals and their family individuals in understanding, and sharing their values, goals and preferences for future medical care.

These care decisions are then formally documented within an advance directive (AD), a legal document that ensures one’s care wishes are followed. 

With Iris, the Comprehensive Advance Care Planning (CACP) process is led by a skilled healthcare facilitator who helps you:

  • Understand your future medical care options.
  • Identify the options that are in line with your hopes and wishes.
  • Discuss your choices and preferences with your loved ones and care team.
  • Write a plan that meets your needs, goals and values.
  • Do all of this without having to leave your home by phone or video conference.

The Challenge

People living with serious illnesses don't just struggle with their disease. In addition...

  • 0

    feel confused and helpless

  • 0

    face the risk of financial ruin

  • 0

    endure serious problems with their care

*Source: Harvard / New York Times / Commonwealth Fund

Benefits of CACP

Lift the burden from your family

Your CACP discussions and your written Advance Directives make your preferences clear to everyone on your team, lifting the burden from your family individuals, doctors and hospital staff if you’re ever unable to discuss your wishes during treatment.

Everybody’s on the same page, even if you update or change your preferences. We’ll make sure to update your advance directives and then send an updated copy to everyone.

Get the care you want

The advance directives you create through our health care planning process remove the confusion and puts you in control of your care, so you get the treatments that align with your goals and preferences.

Your written plan also protects you and your family from the stress and expense of treatments that you don’t want.

Cover the important topics

Advance care planning with an Iris facilitator involves conversations with you and your loved ones about important issues like your:

  • treatment options
  • quality-of-life goals
  • preferences for care
  • who would speak for you in an emergency

By having these discussions now, you can make informed decisions about your future care and get expert help completing your advance directives.

Expert Guidance to Create Your Plan

Our facilitators can help you consider and answer questions that shape the quality and kind of care you receive, especially during a serious illness:

  • What does living well mean to you?
  • Will your health care choices help you reach your goals for living well?
  • If you were in a health care crisis and couldn’t speak for yourself, what would you want your doctors to do?
  • Does your family know your health care goals and how to help you achieve them?

How It Works

We guide you and your loved ones every step of the way.

  • Discussions

    Iris healthcare experts lead care planning discussions with you and your family via phone or video conference.

  • Advance Directives

    We help you draft, sign and distribute a full set of Advance Directives so everyone knows your preferences.

  • Ongoing Support

    We are always available to speak with you and your family, revise your documents and send updates to everyone.

Success Stories

I’m sitting here going ‘Wow I took care of all that! I did!’ … I made all my own decisions. This is how I’ve wanted it and I finally did it!

Individual | Nevada

Planning for my medical care in the future lifted a big burden off my kids. I could see the relief in their faces after we finished the process.

JoAnne Dudek | Roanoke, TX

Our facilitator was excellent and helped us to feel confident about our decisions. It was a very positive and personalized experience for our family and led to great conversations with our children and put our worries and concerns at ease.

Gary & Becky Schmidt | Plainfield, IL

I appreciate this service because I’ve never wanted to be a burden to my kids.

Individual | Florida

Advance Care Planning helped me understand what I want out of my healthcare (which is complicated!) It also opened my eyes to things that turned out to be important that I never knew.

Susan George | Binghamton, NY

It’s very helpful to know that my doctors, and my hospital, and my family all know my wishes.

Individual | Nevada

You’ll have to understand I’m trying not to smile right now because you’re taking the time to call…you guys are very capable and very professional and unloading a burden, which is cool.

Bernard Schaaf | Delaware

We came into this (Advance Care Planning) with many questions and concerns and left feeling like it was the best discussion about my health that we’d ever had.

Fred Sternau | Jupiter, FL

You did a very good job letting me explain myself. You made me feel relaxed and I could say anything I wanted to. Thank you so much.

Individual | California

I feel like I have a stronger voice in my care. My discussions with my doctor and team are more clear and less stressful.

Gloria Leon | Kendale Lake, FL

I think this was fantastic! It’s brought out a lot of stuff that we probably wouldn’t be thinking about or thought about but never get it on paper.

Individual | Florida

I’ve got to say, you guys are really very professional and I think this is awesome. I’m really pleased. You really provide a wonderful service.

Son of Member | Delaware