How to Take Control of Your Medical Wishes in the US

With the proper documents and an agent you trust, you can take charge of your healthcare even while incapacitated. In this post, we’ll highlight the importance of an Advance Directive plan and how it can help you in a medical emergency.

What is an Advance Directive?

An Advance Directive has two main components — a living will that shows your main treatment preferences and a power of attorney that assigns someone to make decisions on your behalf.

To elaborate, here’s what to include in an Advance Directive form according to LawDistrict:

Your name
Your PoA agent
Several alternate agents (just in case)
An expiration date
Specific healthcare instructions
Preferences for specific treatments

You should get signatures from two witnesses and a notary public for extra backing. Once this is ready, make sure your agent(s), doctors, and other healthcare professionals have a copy.

Common Clauses and Preferences

The specifics of your Advance Directive are always up to you. After all, their whole purpose is to reflect your wishes and preferences. Here are a few preferences you may outline in a living will:

If you would prefer a do-not-resuscitate order
If you would accept mechanical ventilation
If you prefer certain antibiotics or antivirals
If you would accept going on a feeding tube
If you object to blood transfusions on religious grounds

Realistically, a living will could include virtually any preference you have. Your power of attorney will similarly revolve around your medical wishes. These can include, but are far from limited to:

Details on the agent’s authority, including what they can and can’t authorize
Guidance on how to approach experimental (but promising) treatments
Information on mental health treatment, which living wills don’t usually cover
An agent’s authorization to access your HIPAA-protected medical records

If you permit it, your agent will have a degree of free rein. Choose someone you trust to fight for your medical preferences; they must also know you well enough to decide for you.

How to Get an Advance Directive

You can secure an Advance Directive online through document template websites. These forms will come with every field you expect — giving you space to think about and outline your medical preferences.

The first step, however, is always understanding your own preferences. You must think this over before an Advance Directive even enters the picture. Research common life-saving treatments and think about whether you’d be okay with them.

You can start customizing an Advance Directive template once you know your preferences. You don’t need to write a separate living will and PoA, as the Advance Directive brings this under the same umbrella.

Once you’ve filled in the form, get your PoA agent to sign it. Once again, you can get signatures from one or two witnesses and notarize the document, but it’s usually not necessary.

A Living Will vs. a Power of Attorney: The Key Differences

Advance Directives include living wills and power of attorney documents — but it’s often unclear where one starts and the other begins. Both typically take effect when you are incapacitated and can’t communicate your health preferences, but they still play very different roles.

Here’s a quick rundown of these documents’ main differences:

Purpose: A living will specifically deal with your medical and treatment preferences. In contrast, a power of attorney is more about broad rules and life decisions.
Type of document: Your living will is entirely about instructions and won’t require a third party to enforce it, while a power of attorney asks you to appoint an agent.
Scope: A living will is only for specific treatments you discuss, without any inferences. A PoA is much broader, and your agent can build upon what you’ve outlined.
Decision-making: Your living will is fully static and won’t let you or anybody else make a real-time decision; a power of attorney usually gives your agent free rein.

An Advance Directive covers every base. Some choose to specify their treatment preferences in their power of attorney, but this may be less accessible in an emergency.

Choosing a PoA Agent

Your agent will be responsible for your medical decisions; each one they make should always fit your preferences. You may want to pick someone you trust more than anyone else — but could they make the hard decisions?

Can you trust the agent you have in mind to end your life support, if necessary? Similarly, would they agree to deny you pain medication or lifesaving treatment? Choose someone you know will always fight for your wishes, no matter the outcome.

You must also pick at least two backup agents in case your original option cannot perform their duties.

Final Thoughts

Even when incapacitated, you can stay in control of your healthcare. An Advance Directive can make sure hospitals know your preferences and that you have an agent by your side to help bring your medical wishes to life.

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