National Healthcare Decisions Day

What National Healthcare Decisions Day does

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is a nonprofit public health education and awareness initiative founded in 2008 by attorney Nathan Kottkamp to encourage advance care planning conversations between individuals, families, and healthcare providers. The initiative centers on an annual awareness day celebrated each April 16, framed by a Benjamin Franklin quote tying healthcare decision review to the tax-filing deadline, and has grown into a national month-long series of independent events hosted by hundreds of community groups including healthcare systems, legal services, faith-based organizations, book clubs, and civic institutions.

NHDD does not operate as a technology company and does not build software products. Its core offerings are free downloadable Conversation Guides, hosted on The Conversation Project's website, that help individuals and families initiate conversations about end-of-life wishes, choose a healthcare agent, and document care preferences. The guides emphasize that advance care planning is a process focused first on conversations and choosing an agent, rather than simply completing legal forms.

The business model is non-commercial. NHDD operates as an initiative of The Conversation Project, which is itself an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a not-for-profit organization. Management, finances, and structure of NHDD were transferred to The Conversation Project in June 2016, while founder Nathan Kottkamp continues in an advisory leadership role. Resources are provided free of charge; optional donations are accepted through IHI's PayPal portal. The go-to-market is community-led: outreach runs through the website, Twitter (@NHDD) and Facebook pages, IHI's email newsletter, and the decentralized April events hosted by participating organizations.

Name

National Healthcare Decisions Day

Legal name

National Healthcare Decisions Day

Website

https://nhdd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

National Healthcare Decisions Day is a nonprofit annual awareness initiative, observed April 16, that encourages the public and healthcare providers to engage in advance care planning conversations through free Conversation Guides and community-hosted events, operated under The Conversation Project/IHI.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Health Education and Advance Care Planning Advocacy

NAICS

Administration of Public Health Programs (92312), Administration of Public Health Programs (923120)

SIC

Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYHLAJAMAA

Public Health Strategy, Policy & Legislation

Healthcare & Life Sciences/Public Health, Government & Regulators/Public Health Policy & Administration

Keywords

• Advance care planning
• Healthcare decision making
• End-of-life planning
• Public health education
• Patient advocacy

Headquarters

HQ city

Richmond

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and nonprofit support: NHDD operates as a nonprofit initiative under The Conversation Project, which is itself an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). The initiative accepts donations via IHI's PayPal portal and does not generate commercial revenue from its educational resources, which are provided free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is an annual public health awareness initiative observed on April 16 that provides free, simple, and uniform Conversation Guides and educational resources to help individuals, families, healthcare providers, and community leaders discuss and document wishes for end-of-life care. The initiative's core offering is a set of free downloadable tools distributed through The Conversation Project website and amplified through community events hosted by healthcare systems, legal services, faith-based organizations, and other groups during April.

Product overview

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is an annual initiative (celebrated April 16th) managed by The Conversation Project, an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). It is not a software product but rather an educational and advocacy initiative that provides free resources including Conversation Guides to help people discuss and document their healthcare wishes. The core offering consists of free conversation guides and educational resources designed to normalize advance care planning conversations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Conversation Guides Free downloadable guides designed to help individuals and families start conversations about end-of-life healthcare wishes and advance care planning, provided by National Healthcare Decisions Day through The Conversation Project.
• National Healthcare Decisions Day Annual Initiative (April 16) An annual awareness day observed on April 16 that inspires, educates, and empowers the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning, supported by hundreds of independent community events hosted throughout April.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• The Conversation ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2016As of June 2016, The Conversation Project has been responsible for the management, finances, and structure of NHDD. The Conversation Project is an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), a not-for-profit organization that is a leader in health and health care improvement worldwide. NHDD's founder Nathan Kottkamp continues to be involved and provides leadership ensuring maintenance of high-quality resources.
• Nathan KottkampcoreOthersAttorney Nathan Kottkamp founded NHDD in 2008 to provide clear, concise, and consistent information on values-based healthcare decision-making. He continues to be involved providing leadership and ensuring maintenance of NHDD's high-quality resources and support for the community.
• The Conversation ProjectcoreOthersThe Conversation Project serves as the parent organization and founding funder of NHDD, having assumed responsibility for management, finances, and structure in June 2016. The organization is an initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI).

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• MyDirectives: Digital advance care planning platform offering online creation, storage, and sharing of advance directives. Comparable mission to NHDD but delivered as a technology product rather than an awareness day.
• Cake: Digital advance care planning platform with end-of-life planning tools and conversation prompts. Comparable in mission to NHDD but distributed through a consumer app rather than an annual awareness day.

Direct peers

• The Conversation Project: Direct parent organization of NHDD that manages finances and structure. Operates the same advance care planning mission through free conversation guides and public education, making it the closest functional peer.
• Five Wishes: Advance directive / living will program from Aging with Dignity that emphasizes conversations and personal wishes. Closely comparable to NHDD in targeting the general public with free educational resources.
• Death Over Dinner: Public-awareness initiative that encourages end-of-life conversations through facilitated dinner gatherings. Closely comparable to NHDD in its conversation-first, community-led approach to advance care planning.
• Prepare for Your Care (UCSF): Evidence-based advance care planning program from UCSF providing free conversation guides and online tools. Directly comparable to NHDD in offering free ACP conversation resources to the general public.
• CaringInfo (NHPCO): National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization program providing free advance directive forms and resources. Directly comparable as a public-facing ACP awareness and resource provider.
• Respecting Choices: National advance care planning program focused on person-centered care through ACP conversations and design. Shares NHDD's emphasis on conversation-first ACP and is a frequently cited clinical-side peer.

Broad incumbents

• Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI): Grandparent nonprofit of NHDD and a globally recognized health and healthcare improvement organization. Comparable as a public-health quality improvement platform, though operating at much broader scope than NHDD's awareness mission.

Regional players

• Honoring Choices Massachusetts: Statewide advance care planning coalition that partners with healthcare providers, faith communities, and legal services. Operates a comparable coalition-and-conversation model but is geographically limited to Massachusetts.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nhdd
• Facebookfacebook.com/nationalhealthcaredecisionsday
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nhdd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about National Healthcare Decisions Day