Advance Directive Insert Option Field For Free

Types of Advance Directives The living will. Durable power of attorney for health care/Medical power of attorney. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders. Organ and tissue donation.

Advance directives are legal documents that provide instructions for medical care and only go into effect if you cannot communicate your own wishes. The two most common advance directives for health care are the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care.

-A durable power of attorney for health care is a document that allows a person, a principal, to give another person, an agent, the right to make decisions regarding the principal's health care if the principal is unable to make decisions or communicate because of severe illness or injury.

A ?health care proxy? is the catchall word for anyone who makes medical decisions on behalf of a patient.

Durable power of attorney for health care decisions: A written document in which you authorize someone whom you name (your ?agent? or ?attorney-in-fact?) to make health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to speak for yourself.

A POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE lets you name an agent to make decisions for you. Your agent can make most medical decisions ? not just those about life sustaining treatment ? when you can't speak for yourself. You can also let your agent make decisions earlier, if you wish.

With the new law in place, health care providers still must check for a patient's advance directive or power of attorney. But once officials have determined that none exists, they can turn to the next-of-kin list, all of whom are legally authorized to speak for the patient.

There are two main elements in an advance directivea living will and a durable power of attorney for health care. There are also other documents that can supplement your advance directive. You can choose which documents to create, depending on how you want decisions to be made.

Advance directives generally fall into three categories: living will, power of attorney and health care proxy.

An advance directive is a set of instructions someone prepares in advance of ill health that determines his healthcare wishes. A living will is one type of advance directive that becomes effective when a person is terminally ill.