What is an advanced healthcare directive?
Friday, 17 April 2009 19:48
Evangeline A. Giron
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IT is often difficult for individuals to think about the care and treatment they want in the event they are incapable of making their own health care decisions. An Advance Health Care Directive (often confused with a "Living Will"), is a written document declaring the type and extent of medical care that you desire in the event you become incapacitated. Having an Advance Health Care Directive in place is the best way to make your medical and health care wishes known and to ensure that those wishes are followed, including directions regarding the use of life-prolonging equipment and procedures.
By completing an Advance Health Care Directive, the law, in essence, allows you to have a say regarding your medical care wishes when you are otherwise not able to speak and make the same known. Without it, your family may act on their own accord rather than yours, i.e., you may not want to prolong your life if it means being completely incapacitated and kept alive by means of a respirator, etc. Your doctors are required to follow the written instructions contained in your Advance Health Care Directive (with a living will, a physician is not bound to carry out your wishes).
Appointing a Health Care Agent ensures that your health care decisions will be carried out; your agent will act on your behalf to see that your Advance Health Care Directive is made known to your doctors and health care providers. Naming someone as your Health Care Agent has the same effect as giving them a limited Power of Attorney over your medical affairs (sometimes referred to as a "Durable Health Care Power of Attorney"). The term "durable" means that your designated Health Care Agent will have power to act even if you become disabled). In an Advance Health Care Directive, for example, you may authorize (or require) your agent to acquire, continue or stop life-sustaining medical care, request an autopsy or make anatomical gifts, in the event that you die. To provide guidance to your agent, the Advance Health Care Directive should incorporate a statement of your wishes with respect to your medical care prior to and following your death.
