Following drawn out, contentious parliamentary deliberations, the Italian legislature has enacted bill n.219/17, meant to regulate advance healthcare directives. The letter's authors are critical of some key aspects relative to advance directives, contending that it would be preferable to opt for advance care planning, which enables already severely ill patients who are fully aware of the consequences of their disease to choose what therapeutic pathway to undertake.
Keywords: Advance care planning; Advance directives; End-of-life care; Physician–patient relations; Prognosis.