Author | Lisa Price, MD

The advance directive. The words instill a sense of foreboding, a finality not many are prepared to face.

The U.S. healthcare system is struggling to address the healthcare needs of country’s growing elderly population, which increases by one person every eight seconds.

Physicians and non-professional family caregivers are in it together. Both groups are aligned in the effort to provide high-quality, compassionate care to older adults. But too often the reality is we are not.