Advance Care Planning: Timing and Person’s Decision-Making Capacity
The Authors, after clarifying the difference between advance care planning (ACP) and advance treatment directives (ATD), go into the merits of the ACP timeline by discussing two topical situations: the timing of its start and the evaluation of the decision-making capacity of the person affected by mild dementia. Although there is no good quality guideline of ACP accredited at international level, the Authors suggest the need of trialing new approaches to ACP with a personalized timeline, while respecting some recommendations relating to its starting point.
KEYWORDS: advance (shared) care planning (ACP or SCP), treatment directives, dementia, timing, decision-making capacity, decision support.
