Healthcare Decision Making - What Documents Do You Need?
Thursday, April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day. National Healthcare Decisions Day exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and healthcare providers about the importance of advance care planning and encourage people to express their wishes regarding healthcare. Given the current health crisis going on in the world, this issue is particularly important right now.
The most basic documents that everyone needs right now are the Healthcare Power of Attorney and Living Will/Advance Directive. These documents may be known by different names depending on your state. They allow your Agent, who may be a trusted friend or family member, to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to communicate your wishes to the doctors. This includes your end of life wishes. Without these documents in place, court involvement may be necessary before decisions can be made on your behalf. In addition to these documents, with strong laws in place to protect your private health care information, we recommend a HIPAA Authorization that identifies who can access your confidential medical records. Extending the powers granted in this document beyond your death can allow loved ones to access these records without the need of probate.
Two additional documents that you may wish to consider depending on your circumstances, and in consultation with your doctor, are a Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) or a Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR). These are usually reserved for individuals who are quite elderly or terminally ill. A DNR is a legally binding physician’s order stating that no steps will be taken to restart your heart or restore breathing if you experience cardiac or respiratory arrest. The DNR is only a decision about CPR. It does not affect any other treatments, such as pain medicine, other medicines, or nutrition. A POLST is also a physician’s order, but it is much broader. It specifies a widener variety of end-of-life treatments that someone does or does not want, including CPR.
In addition to the legal and medical documents, it is important that you discuss your wishes with the individuals you have named as your agent. Terminating a loved one’s life support is probably the most difficult decision a family will have to make. Without exception, the people we meet with have very certain convictions about their end-of-life wishes. However, when we counsel them to have that “conversation” with their loved ones, the air often comes out of the room. Dying is part of life. It is inevitable and it will come to each of us. One of the greatest gifts you can give your family is to have that conversation. Let them know how you feel about them and how you want your end-of-life care to be approached.
If you are concerned about the status of your healthcare decision making documents, please reach out to us. During this time of crisis, we remain open and ready to assist you with any questions you may have and to get these important documents in place. To learn more about this topic, please check out this video and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
This post is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between Hallock & Hallock and the reader.