Duryce, 72, has three children, 10 grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren. She also has 16 health problems, including diabetes, hypertension, asthma, reflux, back pain, and insomnia, resulting in 19 different medications prescribed by numerous specialists.

“I just felt like I’m living on medications and not free to do what I want,” says Duryce. She suspected some of the medications were doing more harm than good and nearly stopped taking them.

Duryce’s story is not unique. Many older adults with multiple chronic conditions are overburdened by health care, but identifying your health priorities can help.

The problem with “one-size-fits-all” health care: Older adults don’t always fit

Treatment recommendations are based on studies that, for the most part, exclude older adults, especially those with multiple chronic conditions. These studies don’t always include the outcomes such as function and symptoms that matter most, either.

The result is often too many health care appointments and too many medications, tests, and procedures, some of which may cause problems without offering much benefit to the outcomes that matter. ^1,2

While well-intentioned, this one-size-fits-all approach does not necessarily help older adults do what matters most to them—their own health priorities.

What are health priorities?

Health priorities are the health and life goals you most desire given what you are willing and able to do to achieve those health goals. Goals should be:

Your health priorities are unique to you. For example, if spending time with your family is something you value, your top health priority might be, “To be less tired so I can babysit my grandchildren weekly.”

Functional independence, enjoying life, and longevity are other values to consider when thinking about your health goals and priorities.

Benefits of identifying your health priorities

Identifying your health priorities has major benefits, including:

Ultimately, your health care should help you do what matters most to you. For many older adults with multiple chronic conditions, identifying their health priorities results in simplifying care. For care partners, gaining clarity on what matters most to you can ignite a renewed sense of purpose.

Why should I identify my health priorities? Doesn’t my health care team already know them?

While most health professionals consider patient preferences and goals, your specific health priorities can help them do so in a more systematic way—even providing guidance and troubleshooting for difficult cases.

Your goals and preferences anchor conversations around the many tradeoffs involved in decision-making. The dialogue shifts from, “You need (test or treatment) because of your (disease),” to “I’m recommending (starting/continuing/stopping treatment) because it will help you achieve (your health goal) and is consistent with (your health care preference).”

How do I identify my health priorities?

My Health Priorities is a free, online self-assessment tool that guides you through identifying your health priorities. When you’re finished, you will have a document you can save for your records and print to share with your health care team and family.

If you have a care partner, doing the assessment together is best. While they might think they know what matters most to you, talking through the questions together often sparks conversations about things they may not have considered. You can find more information on this approach to health care at Patient Priorities Care.

Patient Priorities Care (PPC) and its priorities identification tool, My Health Priorities, are aligned with the Age-Friendly Health Systems 4Ms Framework. Starting with what Matters, PPC anchors Medication, Mentation and Mobility. PPC is funded by The John A. Hartford Foundation.

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