Advance Health Care Directives is a set of legal documents that allow our client to plan and make his own end-of- life wishes known in the event that he /she is no longer able to communicate. Advance directives consist of a living will and a medical/healthcare power of attorney. Living will describes our client's own decisions regarding medical care. Through the medical power of attorney document, Client appoints a person to make healthcare decisions for he/she in the event is unable to speak for himself.
Living will is an advance directive document that guides Client's family and healthcare team through the type of medical treatment he/she wishes to receive if and when unable to communicate. According to California state’s living will law, this document is considered legal as soon as Client signs it and a witness signs it. Living will goes into effect if and when Client is no longer able to make own decisions.
A medical power of attorney is the advance directive that allows you to select a person you trust to make decisions about your medical care if you are temporarily or permanently unable to communicate and make decisions for yourself. This includes not only decisions at the end of your life, but also in other medical situations. This document is also known as a “healthcare proxy,” “appointment of healthcare agent” or “durable power of attorney for healthcare.” This document goes into effect when your physician declares that you are unable to make your own medical decisions. The person you select can also be known as a healthcare agent, surrogate, attorney-in-fact or healthcare proxy.
You should select someone you trust, such as a close family member or good friend who understands your wishes and feels comfortable making healthcare decisions for you. You should have ongoing conversations with this person to talk about your wishes at the end of life. Make sure your medical power of attorney feels comfortable and confident about the type of medical care you want to receive. Most state laws prevent your doctor or any professional caregiver from being assigned as your healthcare agent. You can also select a second agent as an alternate in case your first healthcare agent is unwilling or unable to serve.
Life-sustaining treatments are specific medical procedures that support the body and keep a person alive when the body is not able to function on its own. Making the decision about whether or not to have life-sustaining treatments can be a difficult decision depending on your situation.
You might want to accept life-sustaining treatments if they will help to restore normal functions and improve your condition. However, if you are faced with a serious life-limiting condition, you may not want to prolong your life with life-sustaining treatment. The most common end-of-life medical decisions that you, family members or an appointed healthcare agent must make involve: For more information follow Healthcare Directives 2 link.