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| Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care |
When a patient is able to speak for himself, the medical community can advise the patient about medical treatment and the patient can either give his informed consent to treatment or decide against treatment. When a patient is unable to speak for himself, due to injury, illness, or some other cause, no one else can make the treatment decision for him. A patient can plan for the possibility that he will be unable to speak for himself in a health care situation by executing a durable power of attorney for health care.
A durable power of attorney for health care is a document that contains specific written instructions as to whether the patient chooses to continue or discontinue medical care in the even that the patient is not able to speak for himself. The document designates a decision-maker to act for the patient and usually becomes effective on the happening of an identified event, which is usually the patient's incapacity.
Decision-maker's Powers
The patient should identify the powers being given to the decision-maker once the patient is unable to speak for himself. Individual state laws may limit the powers. In any case, the patient should clearly identify the circumstances under which the decision-maker is authorized to act.
Requirements
Durable power of attorney for health care requirements include:
- Execution. The power of attorney for health care must be signed before the patient becomes incapacitated. State laws may have specific requirements that must be followed.
- Identify the decision-maker. More than one person can be named as the decision-maker. The patient's treating physician may be designated as the person who determines when the patient has become incapacitated and the power of attorney for health care becomes effective. A family member or close friend may be the decision-maker for treatment decisions.
- Triggering event. The document itself should clearly state when it goes into effect. More than one triggering event can be used to accommodate a need for access to medical information that would otherwise be precluded by HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996), to accommodate the need to make non-life-threatening medical decisions if the patient suffers from Alzheimer's disease or senile dementia, and to accommodate life-sustaining decisions.
- State law formalities. State laws may limit the circumstances of continuing medical care and life support decisions.
A person who anticipates the need for medical care or who is planning for end-of-life medical needs should discuss desires for future care and life support with a treating physician and the person or persons to be designated as the decision-maker.
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