3 Medical Questions to Answer When You
Can Before Others Determine Your Health
Treatment When You Can't
by Shane Flait
Accidents, strokes, heart attacks, and
dementia can put you at the whim of someone
else's decisions about your health care. And
those decisions may not be to your liking.
To keep control of your own health-related
decisions when you become incapacitated you
must create distinct medical directives that
answer how you'll be treated when
incapacitated, when relying on
life-sustaining equipment, and when you
should be resuscitated. In the following I
explain what each of these directives mean.
For those at retirement age, an important
part of estate planning includes determining
how you'll be treated while you're living.
We're living longer all the time. That means
we have a greater chance of slipping into
dementia. But heart attacks and stokes can
also force us into degree of mental
incapacity.
So at one point before it's all over, you
may well be subjected to health care
decisions of one sort or another when you
can't communicate what you want.
Three
key health-care related questions that you
need to answer for all to know while you're
mentally competent to do so are:
-
When you require life-sustaining
measures to keep you alive, what would
you consider as too excessive in your
case?
-
What health-related treatment would you
like in your case when you become
incompetent to make such decisions?
-
If you’re found to be technically dead,
should you be resuscitated in your
situation?
These generally require distinct answers.
You do that by creating a medical directive
document that answers that question. You may
create a medical directive that incorporates
different documents each directed to a
different health-related condition. The
exact documents you'll need depend on your
state's laws and the choices you make.
But here's the usual name and directive of
document that addresses each question:
Your answer to life-sustaining measures is
given by your
Living Will:
A Living Will gives your instructions
regarding treatment when you become
terminally ill or are in a persistent
vegetative state and unable to communicate.
It states under what conditions your
life-sustaining treatment should be
terminated.
So, if you don’t want life-sustaining
treatment when recovery is hopeless, draw up
a living will in which you
express your wishes to your doctors when
they’re considering use of life-sustaining
measures. This is
your declaration on what life-sustaining
medical treatments you will (or will not) be
allow if you become incapacitated.
For example, you may request that artificial
nourishment be withheld if you become
terminally ill.
Your answer to the health care you should
receive when you're incapacitated is your
Health Care Proxy
(or Medical Durable Power of Attorney):
A health care proxy takes effect only when
you require medical treatment and your
physician determines that you can’t
communicate your wishes concerning
treatment.
In this document you appoint someone to act
as your agent for medical decisions. It
gives a person you designate permission to
make health care decisions on your behalf if
you are unable to do so in the future –
perhaps decisions consistent with your
living will.
You must execute this document when you’re
competent. Executing a health care proxy
ensures your instructions will be carried
out.
Your answer to whether or not you should be
resuscitated is your
Do Not Resuscitate
Order (DNR):
A DNR says that if you're having a medical
emergency such as a heart attack or stroke,
medical professionals may not try to revive
you. Realize that this is different from a
living will which only goes into effect if
you're in a vegetative state.
Everyone can benefit from a living will
while DNRs are only for very elderly or
frail patients for whom it wouldn't make
sense to resuscitate.
As
you answer each of these questions, consider
also who you can appoint to carry out your
wishes. Talk to the person before appointing
him, and be sure he or she understands and
is comfortable with your wishes, and that
he’s strong enough to carry them out despite
some family members’ objections.
Shane Flait is a writer and educator. Get
more info at
www.EasyRetirementKnowHow.com
