Newly released online: a short video encouraging Americans to think about their health care wishes.
Accompanied by moving music, it aims to reach the viewer emotionally as well as intellectually ― more so than I’ve seen in other video pieces on this topic. In fact, its tone reminds me a bit of the emotional ASPCA ads similarly-produced with only music, text and photos.
You might find this 3-minute piece useful to share with clients. It could be viewed in your office while clients wait for their initial consult, as homework before clients complete their healthcare directives with you, or during an educational presentation you might give in your community.
This video might also be an interesting way to reach out to existing clients at the holiday season. While your clients have obviously already completed their directives, it’s just as important that they talk about their wishes with their loved ones. And while this can be hard for them to do, it can be a tremendously important gift to their families. A short video like this to share with loved ones might give them a tool to start the conversation.
The National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) initiative is hosting this video on its website (on the homepage) and adapted it for national use, as another vehicle to encourage advance care planning.
If you have any tools or ideas that you use to help clients have this conversation with their loved ones, please let me know.
Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank (docubank.com), the largest advance directive registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 190,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.
Academy Guest Blogger
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