Most official state forms are either worded too generally or include multiple choice options that may not adequately address the complex clinical circumstances you face in the future.Even if your state requires a specific form, doctors have a legal obligation to respect your clearly communicated treatment wishes in any manner or form expressed, as long as the wishes are medically appropriate.False. Most states do not require a particular form, but they do have witnessing requirements or other special signing formalities that should be followed.Myth: You have to use your state’s statutory form for your advance directive to be valid. POLST/MOLST/POST – “Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” (also referred to by other terms, such as “Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment” or “Provider Orders for Scope of Treatment”) A set of medical orders in standardized format that addresses key critical care decisions consistent with the patient’s goals of care and results from a clinical process, designed to facilitate shared, informed medical decision making and communication between health care professionals and patients with advanced, progressive illness or frailty.

You can also include instructions or guidelines for decision-making. The person you name is called your agent, proxy, representative, or surrogate. Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (or Health Care Proxy) – A type of advance directive in which you appoint someone else to make all medical treatment decisions for you if you cannot make them for yourself.Normally, living wills address one’s preferences about end-of-life medical treatments, but they can also communicate your wishes, values, or goals about any other aspect of your care and treatment.

Living Will – A type of advance directive in which you state your wishes about care and treatment you want or don’t want if you are no longer able to speak for yourself.

Living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care are both types of health care advance directives.

Health Care Advance Directive – The general term for any document in which you provide instructions about your health care wishes or appoint someone to make medical treatment decisions for you when you are no longer able to make them for yourself.

It can begin at any point in a person’s life, regardless of his or her current health state and, ideally, is documented in an advance directive or recorded in your medical record, revisited periodically, and becomes more specific as your health status changes. It requires conversations between the individual and his or her family, key health care providers, and anyone else who may be involved in decision-making.

Advance Care Planning – A process for setting goals and plans with respect to medical care and treatments.

It’s helpful to review terms, myths and scenarios to bring this to life for you. Terms and MythsĬharles Sabatino from The American Bar Association wrote an article years back about the myths and facts about health care advanced care directives. It is a day for patients to describe what “adequate care” means to you and document to share with loved ones and ultimately healthcare professionals. This day is set aside to create awareness and think through your wishes ahead of time. Since today is April, 16th, it’s a great day to review all things advanced care planning 🙂 It started to highlight the importance of healthcare advanced care planning. National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is observed annually on April 16th since 2008.

National health care decisions day 2017