Q: April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day, what does that mean?
A: The first National Healthcare Decisions Day was in 2007. It is a day created by an attorney dedicated to educating and engaging people in conversations about advance directives. What are advance directives? Advance directives are documents that you sign while you still have capacity that are meant to give instruction as to how your healthcare should be handled if you become incapacitated. The term “advance directives” can refer to a health care proxy and a living will.
While the day was started by lawyers, advanced directives need not be signed in the presence of a doctor or a lawyer. Both of these documents must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who are over the age of 18. However, they are often signed with an attorney when completing the other parts of an estate plan.
The health care proxy is a document that states who will make medical decisions for you if you lose your mental capacity and are unable to make these decisions for yourself. This may include a temporary incapacity such as when a person is under anesthesia, or a long-term incapacity that is a result of dementia or some other cognitive impairment. The health care proxy names one agent to act on your behalf and you can name a successor if your initial agent becomes unavailable to act. In other states, this document is sometimes referred to as a health care power of attorney.
A living will is a document that gives direction as to the type of treatments that you would or would not want if you were to be in an irreversible state with no reasonable expectation of recovery. For those that have also signed a health care proxy, the living will can be used as a guide to the named health care agent in making decisions regarding treatment and end of life. The living will can also be used in the absence of a health care proxy as evidence of your wishes if you are unable to voice your opinion.
Beyond the long-standing advance directives, there is also a form called the Measure of Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form. Unlike the others, this requires consultation with your physician and is actually signed by you and your doctor. The MOLST form is intended to be used as a patient moves between different care settings to make sure the patient’s wishes regarding treatment options are known by the care team. A MOLST form is to be used for those with advanced illness or who are thought to be in the last 1-2 years of life.
The decisions regarding administration or termination of certain types of medical treatments are some of the most important ones to be made in a person’s lifetime. Completing documents such as the ones discussed above are the first step in ensuring that your wishes will be followed if and when you are unable to participate in those conversations yourself.
Once the documents are completed appropriately, the individual should have conversations with the appointed agents, so they are equipped with the information they may need should they have to make these very important decisions.
Britt Burner, Esq. is a Partner at Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. focusing her practice areas on Estate Planning and Elder Law. Burner Prudenti Law, P.C. serves clients from New York City to the east end of Long Island with offices located in East Setauket, Westhampton Beach, Manhattan and East Hampton.