Editor’s Note: Brooke is the Health Information Management Director for Woodlawn Health
Did you know there is a day dedicated each year to remind healthcare providers and you about planning in advance for your care and making your healthcare wishes known? National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16th each year, and this is a friendly reminder to have your advance directives completed, but also to have those hard conversations with your loved ones.
Many of us are guilty of putting off those tough conversations because we tend to think we would be able to make our own medical decisions, but what if you couldn’t? Would your family, friends, and medical teams know your wishes? These conversations, and having them in writing, are vital to ensure your healthcare wishes are known and carried out.
Advance directives are legal documents that provide instructions to help your loved ones know what your wishes are, and many times will relieve them of the stress in making these decisions for you. It may also allow your loved ones to grieve more easily. The two most common advance directives are the Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare but there are others such as, Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate (DNR), the Life Prolonged Procedure Declaration, and Psychiatric Advance Directive.
A Living Will allows your loved ones to know what type of life support you would like and when you would like the life support to be discontinued. You get to decide what type of life-prolonging treatment, which ones to avoid, and under which conditions your choices are carried out.
The Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare allows you the ability to name someone you trust to make healthcare decisions for you if you are unable to communicate these yourself. This individual is known as a representative or agent and should be familiar with your wishes. If you name a healthcare representative, have you had these conversations with them? If there was an emergency, would your healthcare representative know what healthcare treatment you would choose?
Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate or DNR form is for those individuals with terminal conditions that do not wish to receive CPR or other resuscitative measures if their heart stops or they stop breathing. This form must be signed by a physician, the patient or patient representative, and a witness to be valid.
The Life Prolonged Procedure Declaration is the opposite of the Living Will. If you want every life-prolonging medical treatment, you will complete this form.
And finally, the Psychiatric Advance Directive is for specific diagnoses and the medical care you receive and/or reject for mental health conditions.
While April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day, today is as good a day as any to make sure you are having these difficult conversations with your loved ones and providers but also having your wishes in writing. Relieve your loved ones from having to guess what your healthcare choices are and give them the tools to carry out your wishes.
If you need help, please reach out to your attorney or trusted legal representative. We also have a resource on Woodlawn Health’s website: Health Information Management – Woodlawn Hospital (Rochester, Indiana – Fulton County)
