---
title: "#storiesthatmatter: Honoring patient wishes at the end of life"
description: In the ICU, using aggressive measures to save lives is the norm. When patients are unresponsive or can’t advocate for themselves, physicians rely on paper
image: https://blog.matter.health/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/Ryan-interview-2.jpg
---

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# #storiesthatmatter: Honoring patient wishes at the end of life

[ Alejandra ](https://blog.matter.health/author/alejandra)  July 31, 2019

In the ICU, using aggressive measures to save lives is the norm. When patients are unresponsive or can’t advocate for themselves, physicians rely on paper advance directive forms to determine their wishes for care.

In our next *Stories That Matter*, Vynca Co-founder Ryan Van Wert, MD shares the story of the common ICU experience that led him to found his company: delivering heroic life-saving measures to patients who he later learned — through misplaced advance directive forms — never wanted that treatment.

### “The problem particularly arises in individuals who already have serious and life-limiting illnesses…Often those individuals have very specific care preferences to avoid aggressive measures like the intensive care unit and life support.”

Vynca is an advance care planning solution that helps individuals, their caregivers and clinicians navigate the complex process of making choices for future care preferences, and ensuring they are honored. Read more about Vynca’s mission and the importance of honoring each individual’s choices at the end of life in our [interview](https://blog.matter.health/posts/helping-individuals-die-better-a-conversation-with-emelia-altschul/) with Vynca’s Emelia Altschul.

This year, we’re on a mission to tell the boots-on-the-ground stories of healthcare. [Learn more about *Stories That Matter*](https://blog.matter.health/stories-that-matter).

[stories that matter](https://blog.matter.health/tag/stories-that-matter)

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