Advance health care directive
From Wikinvestor
Advance health care directives, also known as advance directives or advance decisions, are instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health in the event that they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or incapacity. A living will is one form of advance directive, leaving instructions for treatment. Another form authorises a specific type of power of attorney or health care proxy, where someone is appointed by the individual to make decisions on their behalf when they are incapacitated. People may also have a combination of both. It is often encouraged that people complete both documents to provide the most comprehensive guidance regarding their care. One example of a combination document is the Five Wishes advance directive, that is applicable in the United States.
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Living will
A living will usually covers specific directives as to the course of treatment that is to be taken by caregivers. In some cases a living will forbids treatment and sometimes also Patient refusal of nutrition and hydration, should the principal be unable to give informed consent ("individual health care instruction") due to incapacity. A living will can be very specific or very general. An example statement in a living will is: If I suffer an incurable, irreversible illness, disease, or condition and my attending physician determines that my condition is terminal, I direct that life-sustaining measures that would serve only to prolong my dying be withheld or discontinued.
More specific living wills may include information regarding an individual's desire for such services such as analgesia (pain relief), antibiotics, hydration, feeding, and the use of ventilators or cardiopulmonary resuscitation. However, studies have also shown that adults are more likely to complete documents written in everyday language.
EXAMPLE: LIVING WILL
Living will made this day of .
I, , being of sound mind, willfully and voluntarily make known my desire that my life shall not be prolonged under the circumstances set forth below and do declare:
1. If at any time I should have a terminal condition as defined in and established in accordance with the procedures set forth in paragraph (10) of Code Section 31-32-2 of the Official code of Georgia Annotated, I direct that the application of life-sustaining procedures to my body be withheld or withdrawn and that I be permitted to die;
2. In the absence of my ability to give directions regarding the use of such life-sustaining procedures, it is my intention that this living will shall be honored by my family and physician(s) as the final expression of my legal, right to refuse medical or surgical treatment and accept the consequences from such refusal;
3. I understand that I may revoke this living will at any time;
4. I understand that the full import of this living will, and I am at least 18 years of age and am emotionally and mentally competent to make this living will; and
5. If I am female and I have been diagnosed as pregnant, this living will shall have no force and effect during the course of my pregnancy.
Signed ________________________________
_(City), __ ____(County) and __ _(State of Residence).
I hereby witness this living will and attest that:
1. The declarant is personally known to me and I believe the declarant to be at least 18 years of age and of sound mind; 2. I am at least 18 years of age; 3. To the best of my knowledge, at the time of the execution of this living will, I: a. Am not related to the declarant by blood or marriage; b. Would not be entitled to any portion of the declarant’s estate by any will or by operation of law under the rules of descent and distribution of this state; c. Am not the attending physician of declarant or any employee of the attending physician or an employee of the hospital or skilled nursing facility in which declarant is a patient; d. Am not directly financially responsible for the declarant’s medical care; e. Have no present claim against any portion of the estate of the declarant;
4. Declarant has signed this document in my presence as above instructed, on the date above first shown.
Witness______________________________________ Address______________________________________ Witness______________________________________ Address______________________________________
Additional witness required when living will is signed in a hospital or skilled nursing facility.
I hereby witness this living will and attest that I believe the declarant to be of sound mind and to have made this living will willingly and voluntarily.
Witness________________________________
Medical director of skilled nursing facility or staff physician not participating in care of the patient or chief of the hospital medical staff or staff physician not participating in care of the patient.
Durable power of attorney and health care proxy
A durable power of attorney (also known as a lasting or enduring power of attorney) is an authorization in which the Principal (commercial law) designates another person (the agency (law)) to make decisions for them in the event that the principal is rendered incapable of making their wishes known. If the decisions relate to medical treatment then the agent appointed is known as a health care proxy. The health care proxy has, in essence, the same rights to request or refuse treatment that the individual would have if capable of making and communicating decisions. A durable power of attorney may also apply to financial matters. In this case, the agent makes financial transactions on behalf of the agent, while the principal is incapacitated.
References
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/P-AD.html http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/B-AD.html
