Advanced care planning involves documenting and formalizing your end-of-life wishes and any other specifics around things that are important to you should an emergency happen. Advanced care plans can be done with the help of an estate lawyer or an attorney who specializes in elder law. This article breaks down everything you need to know about creating your advanced care plan.
What Does Advanced Care Planning Entail?
Advance care planning involves the ongoing process of thinking and talking about what’s important to you to help you and your family prepare for your future healthcare decisions. Advance care planning involves the following:
- Completing advance directives, which are legal documents such as a living will.
- Appointing a healthcare power of attorney, someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf, should be unable to do so yourself.
- Finally, share your decisions and care wishes with your family and loved ones so they are informed beforehand.
What Are Advanced Directives?
Advance directives are legal documents that outline which healthcare and treatment decisions should be made by first responders or healthcare staff if you cannot communicate these wishes. They will let your physician, family, and loved ones know your healthcare preferences. These preferences can include the types of treatment you do or do not want at the end of your life, your desire for diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, resuscitation, organ donation, and so much more. An advance directive document is drafted according to the Arizona law that outlines your wishes regarding your healthcare and treatment. These documents are only valid when you can no longer make or communicate your own decisions. Several documents are listed as advance directives in the state of Arizona, including:
1. A Living Will
2. Health Care Power of Attorney
3. Mental Health Care Power of Attorney
4. Pre-hospital Medical Care Directive – Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
For more information on legal documents to have in place before a senior emergency occurs, click here.
Why Do Advance Directives Matter?
Advance directives matter because they allow healthcare providers to prioritize patients’ wishes to improve end-of-life care. During a 2019 legislative session, Arizona Senate Bill 1352 was passed, giving healthcare providers the ability to have real-time access to patients’ wishes. The issue is that when first responders or healthcare workers need access to a patient’s healthcare directives – they are nowhere to be found.
The Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR) is designed to help honor patients’ end-of-life healthcare wishes by providing seamless access to advance directives across the continuum of care. The AzHDR will offer a reliable and safe place to complete, upload, store, and make accessible Arizonans’ advance directives. This secure and confidential service offers peace of mind to registrants, their families, first responders, and healthcare workers. Registering healthcare advance directives with the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry will ensure wishes documented are wishes honored.*Disclaimer: The information contained in this blog is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between a patient/site visitor and his or her immediate family, physician, or other certified care providers.
