This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

April 16 to April 22 is National Healthcare Decisions Week, a week set aside to encourage all of us to discuss and document important health care wishes before a stressful health crisis occurs. These wishes can include decisions on such things as whether to use a ventilator to aid in breathing, or placement of a feeding tube for nutrition, as well as identifying a health care proxy to make decisions on your behalf.

It can be tough to get started. It may even feel a bit awkward, but powerful conversations with family members today can ensure end-of-life care preferences are honored and reduce stress and uncertainty in the future. Planning today means that you can take comfort tomorrow in knowing that your loved ones will receive the treatments they want, and avoid the care that they don't want.

According to a national survey by The Conversation Project, more than 90 percent of the people think it's important to talk about their loved ones' and their own wishes for end-of-life care, but fewer than 30 percent of people have actually had the conversation. Many people simply haven't gotten around to taking the necessary steps to crystallize what they want and then formalize it. Sometimes it's because people don't know how to start the conversation with their loved ones.

I want to encourage people to start the conversation. A great way to start is by thinking about what is most important to you if you or your loved ones were facing a life threatening or progressive illness and then you can move on to thoughtful and open conversations with those you love. Sometimes those conversations can be the toughest, so here are some simple steps to get the conversation started:

• Think about what is most important to you. What are your greatest fears, hopes and goals? Who would you prefer to make decisions on your behalf with your physicians if you could not? How sure are you of your choices? Do you want your chosen proxy to have leeway to change your decisions?

• Talk with your loved ones. Honest communication can help families avoid the stress of guessing what a family member would have wanted. Be open with each other and focus on really understanding the views of those you love. You may find that you and your loved ones may see some things differently. That's OK. Talk through it, listen and keep an open mind.

• Make it official. Once you've had the conversation, formalize your decisions by putting them in writing. There are several ways to do this. An advance directive can help describe your medical wishes when you no longer can. Special medical orders can be developed with your doctor. Finally, a health care proxy identifies your health care agent — the person you trust to act on your behalf if you are unable to make decisions or communicate your wishes.

• Get help. You can find valuable resources to help you think through these issues and make decisions more manageable at http://www.optumcare.com/nhdd and theconversationproject.org.

This is a process and it does take some time, but it is well worth it. I have seen firsthand the sense of peace, calm and satisfaction families experience knowing their loved ones wishes are granted, and with these details taken care of you will have more precious and memorable time to spend with your loving family members.

Chad E. Bittner, M.D., a practicing family physician for nearly 20 years, is chief medical officer with OptumCare Utah.