The Attitudes of Physicians Toward the New “Dying Patient Act” Enacted in Israel

Abstract

This study aims to determine what clinicians know about Israel's new “Dying Patient Act” and its recommendations, to examine their attitudes and perceptions about it, and to assess their willingness to increase their involvement in advance care planning. In-depth face-to-face interviews with 10 stakeholders and specialists in the health care system, and 4 focus groups with family physicians and geriatricians working in the hospital system and the community, were conducted. There was general agreement that most people, including those in the medical profession, have little exposure to end-of-life discussion and few write advance care planning documents. The medical establishment is aware of the issue of the dying patient but is concerned about the barriers facing it in implementing the Dying Patient Act. These barriers can be divided into three main categories: the medical system, the law itself, and the characteristics of the Israeli population. The results may help augment educational programs on related subjects and increase the use of advance care planning.