To Book an Appointment

Advanced Care Planning in India: Why It Matters More Than Ever

By Dr Saipriya Tewari in Pain Management , Palliative Care

Oct 23 , 2025 | 1 min read

When faced with a serious illness, patients and families are often overwhelmed with decisions about treatment choices, hospitalisations, and end-of-life care. Advanced Care Planning (ACP) helps people prepare for these critical moments, ensuring that medical care aligns with their personal values, beliefs, and wishes.

Unfortunately, in India, ACP is still an emerging concept, often misunderstood, rarely discussed, and almost never documented. But that is beginning to change.

What is Advanced Care Planning?

Advanced Care Planning is a structured discussion between a patient, their family, and healthcare providers about future medical care preferences. It allows individuals to:

Express their values and goals for treatment
Appoint a healthcare proxy or decision-maker
Decide on life-sustaining treatments (such as ventilators, CPR, or feeding tubes)
Document these choices in an Advance Directive

The goal is simple: to ensure that patients receive the care they want, not what others assume they want, when they are unable to speak for themselves.

Why Should Patients and Families Discuss ACP?

Avoid Crisis Decisions: In emergencies, families often face guilt, confusion, and disagreement. ACP prevents these emotionally charged conflicts.
Ensure Patient-Centred Care: It aligns medical interventions with what the patient truly values—comfort, independence, spirituality, or longevity.
Reduce Unnecessary Suffering: Prevents unwanted ICU stays and invasive treatments in terminal illnesses.
Empower Families: Relieves them from the burden of making difficult choices in uncertainty.

The Role of Doctors and Healthcare Teams

In India, doctors play a crucial role in initiating these conversations. Yet, many hesitate due to cultural sensitivities or a lack of formal training. Here’s how healthcare professionals can promote ACP:

Introduce the topic early, especially in chronic or life-limiting illnesses.
Use clear, compassionate language, and avoid medical jargon.
Involve family members and social workers.
Document preferences and revisit them periodically.

Palliative care and pain specialists are uniquely positioned to lead these discussions, integrating them into holistic patient care.

How to Start the Conversation

It’s never too early. Start with simple questions:

What matters most to you if you become very sick?
Have you thought about who should make medical decisions if you can’t?
What are your priorities—comfort, longevity, or being at home?

Encouraging patients to reflect and record their wishes, even informally, can be a meaningful first step.

Conclusion

As India’s healthcare evolves, Advanced Care Planning should become a routine part of medical practice, not an exception. Education of doctors, patient awareness, and simplified legal procedures will help make ACP a practical reality.

Ultimately, ACP is not about dying well—it’s about living well till the end, on one’s own terms.

Written and Verified by: