The most important documents, are those you must use for the protection of your health and for the provision of your healthcare. Without these documents your spouse, partner or other important people may not be able to help you with healthcare, or even visit you in a healthcare facility.
These Healthcare Documents include:
Advance Healthcare Directive aka Healthcare Power of Attorney: This document tells Physicians, Hospitals, Pharmacies, and Mortuaries the types of care you will accept as well as those you will not accept, including your allergies. It names your Health-Care-Agents and their contact information as well as your Primary Care Physician. It also identifies who can deal with your remains after you pass and your organ donor status.
- Directive to Physicians aka Living Will: This informs your physician of your precise desires regarding your end-of-life care.
- HIPAA Declaration: This identifies those people who may grant healthcare providers permission to access your protected-Medical-Information. Its purpose is to allow different healthcare providers to avoid duplicative services, and avoid medical mistakes caused by lack of information.
- Physicians Order for Life Sustaining Treatment – POLST: This document is a doctor’s order. You need to have your physician prepare the POLST with you. One of the POLST’S primary benefits is no one must guess what you desire if you cannot communicate that information. Additionally, at the end of your life the Medical Care Providers do not have to ask loved ones about terminating life sustaining treatment because you have already done that.
STRATEGIES:
Healthcare is probably the third most private area of your life, the first generally, involves one person, the second your banker or investment counselor. Healthcare despite being so personal often involves many people: your healthcare agent, your doctor, your pharmacist, nurses in doctor’s offices and hospitals, insurance companies, and others.
Also involved, are your spouse or partner, family, employer, and others. To navigate the course of your healthcare, you must be able to comfortably discuss all your desires and fears, which is often difficult to do with any of the above people. Fortunately, if we are your attorneys, we will not be at all upset as a partner or child will be. As your attorney we do not judge you based on your concerns or decisions. While your family is emotionally invested in your healthcare decisions, as your attorney while we care about you, we are not likely to be emotionally distressed by these conversations.
We also have experience in preparing these documents, which your circle of family and friends may not be. We have also seen plans which were destined to fail. When we plan together, we can point those out to you. When you cannot decide a certain on your path, we can provide options you may not have considered or even know about. We are here to assist you with these difficult conversations, please call us at (714) 985-9025. Once we have discussed and prepared your healthcare documents, we can help you explain and defend your choices.
