Unfortunately, you must always prepare for the unimaginable yet possible scenario in which you no longer have the mental capacity or physical capability to make sound decisions on your own. This may prompt you to create a financial power of attorney to appoint an individual to serve as the agent for your financial matters. Then, a healthcare power of attorney, otherwise referred to as a healthcare proxy or advance healthcare directive, for your medical needs. With that being said, read on to discover the specific authority you may grant your healthcare agent and how a seasoned Broward County advance healthcare directive lawyer at The Probate Lawyers can help you set these instructions.
What general authority can I give my healthcare agent?
One component of your advance healthcare directive is establishing a healthcare surrogate designation. Here, you may appoint a trusted, third-party individual to serve as your healthcare agent should your mental and physical state make it necessary. And so, you may grant your agent broad or limited authority over your healthcare. But generally speaking, this designation covers the following:
- Your designated agent may be granted the right to decide about the doctors who treat you, the hospitals you stay in, etc.
- Your designated agent may be granted the right to attend doctors’ appointments with you, visit you in the hospital, etc.
- Your designated agent may be granted the right to access your medical records and other personal information.
How can I leave my healthcare agent with more specific instructions?
If you want to get more specific with your healthcare preferences, add a living will to your advance healthcare directive. This is a legally binding document that may essentially serve as your healthcare agent’s “rulebook.” That is, you may cite your wishes for serious medical decisions, such as the following:
- Your wishes regarding whether or not you wish to receive life-sustaining treatments (i.e., dialysis, mechanical respiration, tube feeding, etc).
- Your wishes regarding whether or not you wish to be withheld or withdrawn if a certain treatment is deemed more harmful than beneficial.
- Your wishes regarding whether or not you wish to receive or refuse certain pain management treatments or procedures.
- Your wishes regarding whether or not you wish to receive cardiac resuscitation in the event of cardiac arrest.
- Your wishes regarding whether or not you wish to donate your organs and tissue upon your passing.
As an extra precaution, you may also include a physician orders for life-sustaining treatment document. This may give your medical provider additional guidance on whether or not to conduct a life-sustaining or life-saving treatment (i.e., CPR). This may be especially pertinent in a medical emergency, in which your healthcare agent may be unable to be contacted to give their decision before it is too late.
Before this gets too much, please seek the guidance and counsel of a competent Broward County estate lawyer from The Probate Lawyers. We will work to the best of our ability to minimize or eliminate this mess from your immediate worry.
