Boundary Community Clinics: Start the
Conversation
about Advance Directives |
April 19, 2018 |
by Janet Lukehart, FNP-C
Healthcare
decisions can often be complicated and confusing
even under the best of circumstances. Unexpected
medical issues and emergencies may place you in
a situation where you are unable to speak for
yourself, leaving your family to make heathcare
decisions for you. Under these circumstances,
how will your family and medical providers know
your preferences for life-saving efforts and
treatment? This is where an Advance Directive
comes in.
Stated simply, an Advance Directive shares your
healthcare wishes, should you become
incapacitated and unable to express yourself.
You specify the medical treatments you would
want provided or withheld, and designate who is
permitted to make these medical decisions on
your behalf. Most people decide their
preferences based on personal values and
conversations with loved ones. Should you change
your mind, updates can easily be made by
submitting a new form.
Three types of advance directives legally
recognized in Idaho are the Living Will, the
Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, and
the Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment
(POST). A Living Will is a written, legal
document that spells out medical treatments you
would and would not want to be used to keep you
alive, and related decisions such as pain
management or organ donation. In the absence of
an advance directive, medical care providers are
obligated to prolong your life, using artificial
means if necessary. With a Durable Power of
Attorney for Healthcare, you name the person who
will make these decisions for you when you are
unable. The POST replaces the traditional Idaho
Do Not Resuscitate form and is a set of medical
orders you ask your doctor to write. The POST is
most applicable for those with terminal
conditions.
The Advance Directive process need not be
complicated nor expensive. Instructions and
templates for advance directives are combined in
a free document provided by the state of Idaho.
Idaho also maintains an Advance Directive
Registry. By filing your document with the
registry your healthcare provider and loved ones
will have ready access to your directive in a
time of need. Visit https://sos.idaho.gov/hcdr/
for more information. Other free and low-cost
resources are available at AgingWithDignity.org,
CaringInfo.org and HonoringChoicesIdaho.org.
If you do not already have an Advance Directive
and would like more information and/or forms,
please stop by the Start the Conversation about
Advance Directives exhibit area at the
Hospital's Annual Health Fair on May 12, 2018.
Your actions now might well save your family
members stress and emotional turmoil in the
future, and assure your healthcare choices are
met.
Janet Lukehart is a primary care Nurse
Practitioner at Boundary Community Clinics. |
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