Importance of having a Living Will and Other Advanced Directives
Living wills and other advance directives are written, legal instructions regarding your preferences for medical care if you are unable to make decision= s for yourself. Advance directives guide choices for doctors and caregivers if you’re terminally ill, seriously injured, in a coma, in the late stages of dementia or near the end of life.
Stress among patients and their loved ones often stems from disagreements regarding health care decision-making at the end of life, including the choice of when to use or stop use of life-sustaining medical procedures.
Generally, the choices regarding medical care are within a patient’s control. However, it is important to realize that there may come a time when you will not have the ability to make these decisions yourself, due to medical reasons or otherwise.
When a person becomes unable to make decisions due to a physical or mental change, such as being in a coma or developing dementia (like Alzheimer’s , they are considered incapacitated. Only your primary physician can determine if you are incapacitated. To make sure that an incapacitated person decisions about health care will still be respected, the Florida legislature enacted legislation pertaining to health care advance directives (Chapter 765, Florida Statutes). The law recognizes the right of a competent adult to make an advance directive instructing his or her physician to provide, withhold, or withdraw life-prolonging procedures; to designate another individual to make treatment decisions if the person becomes unable to make his or her own decisions; and/or to indicate the desire to make an anatomical donation after death. Additionally, the law states that you do not have to be incapacitated to elect a health care surrogate to make your decisions.
I believe everyone should consider having an advanced directive. Attorney’s that specialize in healthcare law can help you draft an advanced directive within the law. What do you think?
