What Is An Advance Directive?
An advance directive is a document that states to your doctor and your family members what kind of care you would like to have if you become unable to make medical decisions. Advance directives are documents that are used only if a person loses capacity to make decisions or suffers an injury or disease that renders them unable to communicate their wishes. An advance directive lets you say you don't want a certain treatment, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (also called CPR). An advance directive can also say that you do want certain treatments, like medicine for pain, or intravenous fluids and tube feedings. It is the policy of White River Health System to respect patients' rights to refuse unwanted treatment and to comply with any valid advance directive.
What Is a Healthcare Proxy?
An advance directive also lets you name someone, like your spouse or another close family member, to make decisions for you if you lose your ability to communicate. This is called a Healthcare Proxy or a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, and it lets you name someone to make medical decisions for you if you are unconscious or unable to make medical decisions for any reason.
Who Needs An Advance Directive?
Most advance directives are written by older people or by people who are seriously ill. For example, a patient in the last stages of a critical disease might write an advance directive that says he/she does not want to be put on an artificial respirator if he/she stops breathing. By letting his/her doctor know ahead of time that he/she does not want a respirator, he/she may be able to reduce his/her suffering at the end of life and increase his/her control over his/her death. It may give him/her peace of mind to know that his/her doctor knows his/her wishes and that he/she will not be put on a respirator if he/she stops breathing.
Can An Advance Directive Be Made for Another Person?
If the patient is under age 18, a legal guardian can make an advance directive. If the patient is an adult who can no longer make medical decisions, a legal guardian can make an advance directive for the patient. Next of kin are consulted about decisions when no advance directive exists.
How Do You Make an Advance Directive?
To make an advance directive, please contact your physician or nurse. You may use a form provided by this hospital or another healthcare provider. If you have decided to name a Healthcare Proxy, fill out the Proxy Directive. Two witnesses (over age 21 and not your proxy) must sign the directive.
What if You Change Your Mind?
Your advance directive can be revoked at any time by telling your doctor and family members that your wishes have changed. All copies of the directive to be revoked should be destroyed.
For more information, ask your doctor or health care professional about advance directives.