Healthcare Directives, often referred to as a Medical Power of Attorney, are critical tools for any adult, regardless of their circumstance. Simply put, a Healthcare Directive is a tool designed to allow another person to make medical decisions for you if you can't. A Healthcare Directive is a safeguard to protect you and ensure your wishes are followed by medical professionals.
Many people may have created a Healthcare Directive without even knowing it. If you've ever had a surgery, visited the emergency room, or were facing a routine procedure, chances are that someone had you fill out some form of a Healthcare Directive among a stack of other papers to complete. At that time, you likely didn't entirely understand what you were filling out. Even if you did, there was little time to consider your wishes or seek any advice before being wheeled into another room.
Rather than complete a form in a moment of emergency or facing a procedure with worry and concern preventing more thoughtful consideration, it is best to have a Healthcare Directive completed ahead of time which accurately reflects your wishes, allows you to seek advice and consider all of your options, and not have the pending fear of an imminent procedure or pain preventing you from thinking clearly. A skilled attorney can help walk you through what situations you wish to have decisions made and appoint someone as your agent to make those decisions and speak with your doctor when you can't.
Healthcare Directives can also be highly personal to you. A well-crafted Healthcare Directive can address your own preferences, such as religious decisions and considerations, worries and patterns from your family history, past medical complications, and any other factor to ensure you are comfortable with the decisions being made by your agent. They can address not only physical medical intervention like surgery and medication, but also mental health decisions, cognitive declination care, and so on.
Ensuring you have a Healthcare Directive created before an emergency can not only provide peace of mind to you, but avoid those rushed moments at hospital check-in leaving you crossing fingers that you will be cared for. Healthcare Directives are important for people of all ages - from the adventurous young adult to the wiser, more age-advanced, a Healthcare Directive will protect you. Contact us today to learn more and schedule a consultation to create your own Healthcare Directive.
