Innovations in End-of-Life Care
an international journal of leaders in end-of-life care

Dear Readers:

This department is a new addition to the Innovations in End-of-Life Care online journal. In this occasional column I will approach the theme of the current issue from the patient or family perspective, addressing the overarching question: "What impact might these innovations in the delivery of end-of-life care have on me or my loved ones?" Although our core readership for the journal remains health care providers, we have been aware of a growing number of patients and families who peruse the pages of Innovations seeking information and perspectives to guide their own choices when they or loved ones are gravely ill. In this column I will distill and highlight facets of each thematic issue for this group of readers, offer key questions for them to pose to their own health care providers and administrators of their health care institutions, identify issues to consider in assessing choices for care, and provide resources for further information.

We hope that this new department also will empower patients and families, just as we hope that each issue of Innovations empowers health care professionals, to take action to improve or enhance the care provided to people near the end of life in their communities and health care institutions. Our intention here is to help readers frame questions and find answers, not to provide specific advice about any reader's particular situation. We encourage readers to pose their questions to the featured innovators on the Online Discussion page, however, as well as to use the website links below and elsewhere in this issue to find additional information.

We hope that you, our core readership of health care professionals, will share the print-friendly version of this column with the patients and families in your care. In order to see this column evolve as a valuable addition to the Innovations online publication, we invite feedback from health care providers, patients, and family members. Feel free to share with us your ideas and suggestions on how together we can keep educating the community about innovative and indispensable topics in end-of-life care.

Holly D. Sivec
Staff Editor

• What does this mean for me? Insights for patients and families.