Advanced Care Planning and Legal Framework in Victoria

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of advanced care planning (ACP) in Victoria, examining its use, significance, and the legal framework that supports it. The report delves into the relevant laws and regulations, including advanced care directives and substitute decision-making, while also highlighting best practices in the utilization of ACP, such as respecting patient autonomy and defining quality of life from the patient's perspective. Furthermore, the report explores ethical principles in ACP, addressing challenges like conflicts between values and language barriers, which can impact the process. The conclusion summarizes the importance of ACP in enabling informed healthcare decisions and emphasizes the adherence to ethical principles and legal frameworks for providing quality services to service users.

ADVANCED CARE PLAN

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..............................................................................................................................................3
Use of ACP..............................................................................................................................................3
ACP significance.....................................................................................................................................3
Legal framework in Victoria...................................................................................................................4
Best practices in utilization of ACP.........................................................................................................4
Ethical principles in ACP........................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION...........................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES............................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Advanced care planning is predominately the process through which individuals are able
to make informed decisions regarding the delivery care they want to receive for meeting their
healthcare needs. The main aim of this report is to analyze the laws and regulations formalized
by Victorian in ACP.
This report provides overview of use of ACP, ACP significance, legal framework in
Victoria, best practices in utilization of ACP and ethical principles in ACP.
MAIN BODY
Use of ACP
Advanced care planning is basically the process which allows individuals to design the
various plans about their future healthcare. Advanced healthcare primarily gives the direction
and guidance to the healthcare professionals that when an individual is not in the position for
communicating their healthcare choices. Thus, the use of advanced care planning is essential for
improving the health of individuals. Advanced care planning is mainly applicable to the adults at
all stages of their life. The major components of the ACP mainly involve nomination of the
substitute decision maker and completion of the advanced care directive. Although advanced
care planning is highly important in order to assess the healthcare needs of people and providing
them a better treatment but there are mainly two errors which occurs during this planning. One is
the improper communication and another is inadequate knowledge about the requirements
(Rosen and Budwany, (2019).
ACP significance
The major significance as well as importance of advanced care planning is that it enables
the people to make their wishes known upfront about various future medical care as well as
treatment and thus provide them the well-through knowledge about their own health. This type
of planning basically helps the patients to make their own decision which then later on guide
them in their future healthcare. The advanced health planning enables people to improve their
health and change their health behaviour (Hardcastle,( 2019).

Another major significance as well as benefit of advanced care planning is that it enables
people and allows them to decide in advance that what type of care they want to have or recive if
at any stage they become unable to communicate or speak for themselves. Thus, this is a kind of
future planning which provides a way for each and every individual to make important decision
about the health.
Legal framework in Victoria
There are various statutory as well as common laws which addresses advanced care
planning and thus support ACP.
Advanced care directives
According to this law, each and every competent individual have the right to refuse as
well as deny the medical treatment in the future. This law basically gives the right and power to
the people where if they find that the medical treatment is not proper or are not satisfied with the
cure or treatment strategy then they can refuse to receive it (Garces and et.al.,(2017).
Substitute decision making
Substitute person is basically the individuals who are mainly called for making and
taking decisions on the behalf of patient whose power of decision making has been impaired.
This is the another law in advanced care planning which relates with substitute decision maker.
According to this law, legal appointment of the substitute decision-maker of patient’s choice is
mainly supported by the statue law within Australian jurisdictions (Garces and et.al.,(2017).
Best practices in utilization of ACP
The best practice which is mainly followed in the preparation and utilization of advanced
care planning is that the autonomy of people is respected. This is considered as the best practice
within ACP where competent adults are entitled for making their decisions about various
personal matters like health. Each and every individual is given complete freedom for making
their decisions and the healthcare professionals should consider the beliefs and culture of person
in providing treatment (Audigé, Gillam and Stark, (2020).

Another best practice is ACP is that quality of life is mainly defined by the people. The
healthcare professionals mainly allow the individuals to make their decisions more broader and
decide that what quality they want during the treatment.
Ethical principles in ACP
There are various ethical challenges as well as dilemmas which is being faced by
healthcare professionals as well as service users in advanced care planning
Conflict between values
This is one of the major challenge which is being faced by the healthcare professionals
and thus affects the overall process. There always a conflict occurs between family members as
well as healthcare providers. Various confusing terminology as well as vague instructions
basically makes the conversation difficult for both parties. Thus it is highly essential to use the
words and terminology which everyone understands (Rogers and et.al.,(2019).
Language barrier
This is the another major challenge which is being faced by both service users and
healthcare providers where both faces problems in articulating their views. The patient and their
family members as well as healthcare professionals often belongs to other culture due to which
their language varies. Due to this, it becomes difficult for healthcare providers and service users
and they face challenge in explaining their view which becomes a risk in ACP (Ruseckaite and
et.al.,(2017).
CONCLUSION
It has been summarized that advanced care planning helps the individuals to make
informed decisions regarding their health and health behaviour. There are various best practices
for preparation of ACP like providing freedom to people for making their plan. Besides this,
there are various ethical principles as well as legal framework in ACP which helps the healthcare
professionals to provide proper services to the people. These principles basically have to be
followed by the healthcare professionals for proving the quality services to service users which
they want.

REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Audigé, M., Gillam, L. and Stark, Z., (2020). Treatment limitation and advance planning:
Hospital‐wide audit of paediatric death. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.
Garces, N and et.al.,(2017). Survivorship care plan (SCP) program development within a large
hospital network.
Hardcastle, M.A., (2019). An advanced care plan–the gift that keeps on giving. Kai Tiaki:
Nursing New Zealand.25(10). pp.13-15.
Rogers, M.J and et.al.,(2019). Optimal care pathways for lung cancer in South West
Victoria. Australian Journal of Cancer Nursing, The.20(2). p.4.
Rosen, D.A. and Budwany, R.R., (2019). Pediatric Advance Care Plan. When Cure Is Not an
Option. Critical care medicine,.47(1). pp.140-141.
Ruseckaite, R and et.al.,(2017). Protocol for a national prevalence study of advance care
planning documentation and self-reported uptake in Australia. BMJ open.7(11).
p.e018024.
Weathers, E and et.al.,(2016). Advance care planning: A systematic review of randomised
controlled trials conducted with older adults. Maturitas.91. pp.101-109.