You probably don’t need to be reminded that you need an advance directive– either the appointment of a health care power of attorney or the creation of a living will- or ideally both- in order to ensure that if you can no longer make decisions for yourself, your loved ones will know what you want. But then again, maybe you’re like 60% of the population, and you don’t have an advance directive- the question is, why not?

One reason might be the forms available for you to fill out. Admittedly, these forms have been developed to meet state legal requirements and they can be cumbersome and confusing if you don’t know what you’re doing or don’t have assistance when filling them out. If that’s been the case for you, then you need to meet Dr. Rebecca Sudore. She’s a geriatrician at UCSF, an expert in health literacy and the lead author of a new study examining the use of easy-to-read advance directives, combined with an online advance care planning program. The goal of the study was to see if this combination program can help patients more easily fill out advance directives. Not only was the study successful in increasing the rates of execution of advance directives, but her online program and easy-to-read (and legally valid) forms are now available to the general public as well. The program is called Prepare and you can find out more about her study, and this accessible new planning option, by clicking here.