One of the greatest problems plaguing the healthcare program is the lack of a uniform education system which both informs and facilitates the public's participation in their own care. For any system to be successful these two elements must be available. This proposal outlines a system which embraces such a program. It takes organ donation (the healthcare issue) and uses a multi-agency cooperative effort to allow and support public participation. The plan design broad in scope yet has enough flexibility to focus efforts on certain target populations and still reach an entire community. Although the concept of a donor registry is not new, this plan refines it into an education and practice effort, then further develops it into a service effort for the entire community. The plan appreciates that to work it must be flexible, efficient, easy to use and useful to all its users. The targeted populations are those our multi-phased research revealed as the most difficult to reach and the most necessary for program success in this community. The plan uses advanced communication technologies, existing legislation, the commitment of the procurement program and the recognized need by the community served. The registry proposed is easily accessed by the public and medical community. The accompanying education programs inform the public of its rights and obligations under existing laws and instructs the medical community of its duty, within the contract they hold with the public, to facilitate exercising those rights. The goals are: 1) Increase the number of donor organs; 2) Create support within the medical community to facilitate the donor process; and, 3) Use of the signed intent for the purpose it was developed: conveying and fulfilling the wishes of donors.
