How to Make Your Healthcare Wishes Known

Your Patient Advocate Maria Hale

Answers Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Advance Directive?

An Advance Directive helps you express how you want to be treated if you are seriously ill and unable to speak for yourself.  An Advance Directive gives clear direction to your loved ones and to the clinical care team taking care of you about the medical treatment you want or do not want to have. An Advance Directive is a gift to you and your family. It allows you to maintain control over how you are treated and to ensure that you experience the type of care and the type of death that you desire.

Why should I complete an Advance Directive?

By completing an Advance Directive you empower your loved one to act on your behalf and ensure that they will make decisions about continuing or discontinuing treatment that upholds and respects your specific wishes for treatment.

What are the types of Advance Directives? 

1.    A Health Care Proxy: A Health Care Proxy is a document that lets you name someone to make decisions about your medical care, including decisions about life support.  By completing a Health Care Proxy Form you are appointing someone to speak for you anytime you are unable to make your own medical decisions, not only at the end of life.

2.    Living Will: Is a document that lets you state your wishes about medical care in the event that you develop an irreversible condition that prevents you from making your own medical decisions. The Living Will becomes effective if you become terminally ill, permanently unconscious or minimally conscious due to brain damage and will never regain the ability to make decisions. In a living will, you identify clearly the healthcare treatment you want or do not want.

Do I need to complete both of these documents?

Completing both documents helps to ensure that you receive the medical care you desire. However, you should continue to have ongoing discussions with your spokesperson to assure that person knows your values and wishes and can speak on your behalf regardless of what your circumstances may be.

In addition, it is beneficial to have completed both documents in case you suffer an injury or acute medical episode while traveling and are unable to make decisions for yourself.

Whom should I name as my Health Care Proxy?

It is important that you name a person as your proxy who knows your goals and values and whom you trust to carry out your wishes.  Be sure to talk with your agent about your wishes in detail and confirm that he or she agrees to act on your behalf.  You can always change or revoke your proxy.  If you do make a change, make sure your proxy is aware of the change you make.

When does the Health Care Proxy decision making take effect? 

So long as you can make decisions, you are in charge.  Therefore, your healthcare proxy can only make decisions on your behalf when you are no longer able to communicate your decisions.

Do I need an attorney to complete a Health Care Proxy?

An attorney is not needed and the documents do not have to notarized. However, the documents do require witnesses.

How can I obtain a Health Care Proxy Form?

http://www.nwhc.net/2009AdvancedCarePlanningBooklet.pdf

Additional Resources:

http://www.NationalHealthcareDecisionsDay.org/takeaction/advance_directive

http://www.PutItInWriting.org/putitinwriting_app/index.jsp

http://www.AgingWithDignity.org/

http://www.health.state.ny.us/professionals/patients/health_care_proxy/index.htm

http://www.WestchesterEndOfLife.org/

http://www.CaringInfo.org/

http://www.CompassionAndSupport.org/pdfs/about/FINAL-2009RevisedACPBooklet-Excellus-Color-Web.pdf

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