Advance Directives
Advance Directives (also referred to as Advanced Healthcare Directives) are instructions from an individual that specify what medical care should be provided if that individual is no longer capable of making medical decisions. Advance Directives is a general term that may refer to several separate documents including a Living Will, Power of Attorney and/or Health Care Proxy.
Living Will
A living will is a legal document that an individual usually develops with family members to make known his or her wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments. It is important that family members and or close friends of residents in Nursing Homes or Assisted Living facilities work together with the resident to complete this document. It is also important that the documents are reviewed and updated periodically - especially when there is a change in the individual's medical status or a change in Power of Attorney.
As the laws governing such documents change from time to time, it is also recommended that the Living Will be reviewed and updated yearly regardless of other changes. Most states have developed forms that help families and residents to complete a living will without the need of professional advice from an attorney. It is strongly suggested that families consult with the individual's doctor(s) during the process of completing these documents. It is also important to have an open dialogue about the individual's wishes for medical care. Decisions about care will often force the Agent to make complex decisions that may not have been foreseen during the development of the Directives.
Power of Attorney
Power of Attorney is a document that allows an individual to appoint an individual to appoint a person or organization to handle that individual's affairs if the individual is unable to do so.
The person or organization that is appointed is of referred to as "Agent." There are several kinds of power of attorney.
- General Power of Attorney authorizes the Agent to act on the individual's behalf in a variety of situations.
- Special Power of Attorney authorizes the Agent to act on the individual's behalf in specific situations only.
- Health Care Power of Attorney (sometimes called Health Care Proxy) allows the individual to appoint someone to make health care decisions if the individual is incapacitated.
- Durable Power of Attorney is usually created by adding specific text the document. This means that the document will remain in effect if the individual becomes mentally incompetent.
- Revocation of Power of Attorney allows the individual to revoke a power of attorney document.
Many State Governments have developed Advance Directive forms that comply with the State's current legislative statutes and make the development of Advance Directives much simpler for families.
Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form
If you have unconditional preferences about health care that you do or do not want to receive, you should ask your doctor to complete a Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) Form. The physician orders found in a POLST Form should be followed by all licensed health care facilities and Emergency Medical Service providers. This form helps to translate the wishes expressed in your advance directive into orders that can be followed by health care providers. You cannot be forced to complete a POLST Form.