...In this paper, I will discuss advance directives, what it is, and the reason for it. I will talk about the issues that are currently facing advance directives care and talk about whether it has failed, or not. Finally, I will prove my stand on the issues with evidence. What is Advance Directives? An Advance directive is a living will, which allows one to document their wishes concerning medical treatments at the end of life. Even though it’s optional, but all health care facilities are required by law to ask patients if they have one, and offer them the appropriate information, and documents to sign if they want it. There are two basic kinds of advance directives, living wills, and durable powers of attorney for health care. Advance directives are legally valid throughout the United States, but the laws governing advance directives vary from state, to state. Anyone can have advance directives, no lawyer is required, and it becomes validas soon as you sign it in front of the required witnesses. Anyone can be a witness. Reasons for advance directives Advance directive is designed to empower patients, and to allow them to have a voice in their care. It provides a way for patients to communicate their wishes to family, friends and health care professionals, when they are no longer able to do so. With advance care directives, you can express how much, or how little care you want done for you when you are no longer able to make these decisions for yourself. You can also appoint...
Words: 486 - Pages: 2
...Advance Directives are our wishes when we are at end of life stages of life that give specific direction of how, who, and when to treat us in our final days and hours. We can have documents drawn up to say what we want in the event we are in a state where we cannot voice our wishes aloud. These documents have legal and ethical basis, and they should be followed unless the legally or ethically unable to do so. Advance Directives gives a documented guide to the care giver’s or family member’s, so that they all can provide the kind of care that the medically impaired patient wants. This covers a wide variety of medical treatments such as dialisis, ventilators, feeding tubes and organ and or tissue transplants. If a patient has kidney failure they might or might not want to be on dialysis. The advance directive would spell out whether the patient would want such treatment if he or she was not able to convey this to the medical personnel. If the patient was at the end of life and did not want to be kept alive via artificial means such as a ventilator of feeding tube, the advance directive would have the patients wants of this type of treatment also. If the patient passed away and wanted his or her organs donated, then this directed would defanitely give the right to have their organs harvested and donated to someone in need. Even though there might be an advanced directed for a patient that is not able to express their wishes to their family or care givers, there can still...
Words: 1595 - Pages: 7
...DeVry | HSM320 A.RETA Application Paper Advance Directives- Kevin Bean | Devry University- Andrea Reta, Prof. | | Kevin Bean | 12/15/2014 | This paper concerns the ethical basis for advance directives, or “Living Wills”; the value of these advance directives to the patients, their families; and the authorities that these advance directives give the above mentioned interested parties. | Contents Application Paper on Advance Directives 3 Abstract of Application Paper 3 Advance Health Care Directives 3 The Natural Death Acts 3 Legal Precedents for Advance Directives 3 Advance Health Care Directives: 4 California’s Advance Directive Law 4 The Natural Death Acts 5 Inception and Legal Basis 5 Current situation of N.D.A.s 5 Value of Advance Directives to Patient, Family, and Caregiver 6 Value to Author or Patient 6 Health Care Facility 6 Are Advance Directives Really Effective? 7 Living Will Example 8 References 13 Application Paper on Advance Directives Abstract of Application Paper This paper will examine the short history of Advance Directives in California, the other states that have added A.D.s, and what the legal basis and historical basis for these acts are. Previous to the Advance Directives, very similar laws are Natural Death Acts. In this report I will review some of the similarities, and differences between the A.D.s and the N.D.A.s. In the 1970s, with the modernization of health care facilities, some patients, especially...
Words: 2484 - Pages: 10
...Keeshia Whiteside Advance Directives and Living Wills Health care advance directives are legal documents that communicate a person's wishes about health care decisions in the event the person becomes incapable of making health care decisions. There are two basic kinds of advance directives: living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care. * A living will expresses, in advance, a person's instructions or preferences about future medical treatments, particularly end-of-life care, in the event the person loses capacity to make health care decisions. * A durable power of attorney for health care appoints a person (called a health care agent or proxy, health care representative, or other name depending on the state) to make decisions for the person (the principal) in the event of incapacity to make health care decisions. Normally, people communicate their wishes directly to their doctors. But when a person no longer has the capacity to make or communicate a health care decision, another way to make and communicate a decision is needed. That is the role advance directives play. If no advance directive has been prepared, someone else not of the person's choosing may be called on to make health care decisions. Many states authorize default surrogate decision makers, usually next of kin. When state law does not authorize a default surrogate decision maker, doctors and hospitals still usually turn to next of kin, although the extent of their legal authority becomes...
Words: 1085 - Pages: 5
...Health care advance directives are documents that communicate a person's wishes about health care decisions in the event the person becomes incapable of making health care decisions. There are two basic kinds of advance directives: living wills and durable powers of attorney for health care. Durable powers of attorney are the legal basis during advance directives. Legal basis began when the Patient Self-Determination Act, a federal law was passed during 1991. This act requires that the patients are informed about their right to participate in health care decisions, including their right to have an advance directive.(Tonelli, 2008) Advance directives fall into two broad categories: instructive and proxy. Instructive directives allow for preferences regarding the provision of particular therapies or classes of therapies. Living wills are the most common examples of instructive directives, but other types of instructive directives, such as no transfusion and no CPR directives are also employed. The proxy directive, generally a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPAHC), allows for the designation of a surrogate medical decision maker of the patient's choosing. This surrogate decision maker makes medical care decisions for the patient in the event she is incapacitated. (Tonelli, 2008) The ethical basis for advance directives is pretty much dealing with living wills. A living will expresses a person's preferences for medical care it is called a “living" will because it...
Words: 507 - Pages: 3
... | |Flaws in Advance Directives, Living Wills, and Power of Attorney | Introduction A Living Will is a form of an advance directive that is a “legal document that describes those treatments an individual wishes or does not wish to receive should he or she becomes incapacitated and unable to make medical decisions” (Pazgar, 2007, p. 378). Normally in a Living Will an individual would also indicate another individual as his or her power of attorney in the legal document; however, it is not necessary for a living will to be created with a power of attorney or a power of attorney to be created with a living will though it is highly recommended to do so. This is due to the fact that each has its flaws and each could compensate for one another though in reality it could create more conflicts too. For a physician or any other healthcare provider to go against a patient’s autonomy means that there are many legal problems these physicians may face because they went against the patient’s desires, especially because of such allegations as criminal assault and battery. Advance directives have been created to preserve an individual’s autonomy and protect a physician from having...
Words: 3335 - Pages: 14
...What are advance directives? Advance directives are extremely important. It is essential that everyone make some sort of arrangement before an unfortunate situation happens to them where these decisions will need to be made. An advance directive is basically a living will or a written statement in which people state the type and amount of care they wish to receive during a terminal illness and as death approaches. Medical Law and Ethics stated that “Advance directives limit the type and amount of medical care and treatment that patients will receive if they should become incompetent and have a poor prognosis. It is important that directives are placed in writing; it is not sufficient for a person to just tell someone what his or her wishes for treatment are. The courts typically enforce written advance directives.” (pg 313) There are four types of advance directives. They are a living will, durable power of attorney for healthcare, uniform anatomical gift act, and a do not resuscitate order. The living will is a “document that a person drafts before becoming incompetent or unable to make healthcare decisions.” The durable power of attorney for healthcare is “A legal document that empowers another person (proxy) to make healthcare decisions for healthcare for an incompetent patient. It goes into effect after the person becomes incompetent and only pertains to healthcare decisions.” The uniform anatomical gift act is a “law that allows persons 18 years or older and of sound mind...
Words: 295 - Pages: 2
...As you are dying the last thing you want to do is have to make decisions of what is going to happen to you, so let’s make the decisions before we get to this point. Physicians should make it routine to talk to their adult patients about the options of end of life care and advance directives. These end of life care and advance directive involve: living will, a medical power of attorney (or healthcare proxy), palliative care and hospice care. Allowing these patients to know all the options they have, it could make the end of life care process easier for families when deciding what should be done. I believe physicians and nurses should talk about end of life care and advance directives because everybody should know their options before they get...
Words: 1184 - Pages: 5
...CALIFORNIA ADVANCE HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE Including Power of Attorney for Health Care Imprint / MRN NOTE: The document meets legal requirements for most Californians, but might not be appropriate in special circumstances. If you might have special needs, consult an attorney. PART 1: APPOINTING AN AGENT TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS NOTE: You should discuss your wishes in detail with your designated agent(s) My name is:_____________________________________ Date of Birth:________________ My address is:_______________________________________________________________ In this document I appoint an agent. That agent will make health care decisions for me in the future, if and when I no longer have the mental capacity to make my own health care decisions. Optional: I want my agent to make my health care decisions now, even though I currently have the mental capacity to make my own health care decisions. _______ (Do not initial here if you want to continue making your own health decisions for as long as you are able.) The following persons cannot be selected as your agent or alternate agent: • Your primary physician • An employee of the health care institution or residential care facility where you receive care (unless you are related to that person or you are co-workers). PRIMARY AGENT: Agent’s Name: ___________________________________________________ Address:___________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ (Phone...
Words: 1492 - Pages: 6
...Advance Directives Advance directives are medical documents that are created by the patient that assist health care providers, and loved ones provide care and make decisions for the patient. Four types of advance directives exist including a Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA), Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) orders (Fremgen, 2009). This paper will discuss one type of advance directives, the DNR order. The DNR order alerts medical professionals not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), per the patient’s request. This means that health care professionals will not attempt emergency CPR if the patient’s breathing or heartbeat stops (Smith.). Advance directives and DNR orders are important to have drawn up by the patient because in the event they are unable to speak for themselves, an order is put in place stating their wishes. This helps in assisting family members and health care professionals in making decisions when the end of life is inevitable. Advantages and Disadvantages of a DNR Order When it comes to making this difficult decision, there are many advantages and disadvantages of a DNR order. The advantages as stated in the report called, “Recording “Do Not Resuscitate” and other Life-Sustaining Orders in the Out-of-Hospital Setting” are: * Available to all patients * No personal discomfort * Deals with a range of treatment * Easy to maintain * No loss of privacy (Pace, 2002). For example, when a person...
Words: 1232 - Pages: 5
...Advance Directives Yuronda Lewis Advance directives were created to respond to the increasing sophistication and prevalence of the medical technology of today’s world. The wishes of the dying are going unheard because they didn’t make plans before the time came along. This is when the situation of living wills, durable power of attorney, and other directives came into place. Living wills provide the specific course of treatment that is to be followed when a person is dying. The durable power of attorney gives another person the right to state the last wishes of a dying person. There are four kinds of legal advance directives that are followed in any case of the dying and the parties left behind to decide. The first choice is the living will of a person. The second choice is the durable power of attorney given by a person to another person to decide. The third choice is a person legally stating their wants in writing before they are ill. The last choice is the person leaving the choice to a health care agent through a health care agency. I have personally been involved in every situation of this topic. My mother got ill and put a durable power of attorney in place for me to make the decisions for her care. There came a time when I couldn’t afford the cost of her choice and she signed her care over to a hospice facility and they became responsible for care and I lost the right to make any decisions about her care. She made this decision because...
Words: 1417 - Pages: 6
...Advance Directives for Medical Decisions The Living Will [Type the author name] 12/13/2014 Advance directives for medical decisions Advance directives define your choices for end-of-life care and Living wills express your wishes and choices when you're not able to express them yourself. A living will is a written, legal document that provides instructions for the medical care that you want or do not want to be used to stay alive, as well as other decisions on your pain management, and if you want to donate your organs. These documents are so valuable in healthcare situations because they determine your wishes and what you value in life like the importance of being self-sufficient and independent. You can express what situations would make your life not worth living and what procedures you would want if they provided a cure. Your healthcare provider or doctor can arrange for consultation and information about discussing your personal requests. There are many situations and decisions that should be addressed about potential end-of-life care and your doctor can provide information about these issues. Some situations in which a Living Will might apply and would be of benefit to those involved would be if you stated that you would like to be resuscitated by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or by a defibrillator to shock you heart to start beating again. You can also have a provision for use of a ventilation so you can breathe and list for how...
Words: 1643 - Pages: 7
...ADVANCE DIRECTIVES Week 7 Assignment Melanie Kay De Vry University Health Rights and Responsibilities Professor Van Orsdale December 11, 2010 The Federal Patient Self-Determination Act of 1991 mandates that adult patients admitted in any healthcare facility that is funded by Medicare or Medicaid must be asked if they have an advance directive or if they wish to have information about self-determination directives. Legally and ethically this type of system is being and should always be used is so that any patient can feel as though they have control over their health care situation. It is predetermining what you want done in case of failure of your ability to communicate with your health care professionals. In this advance directive situations such as long term care, inability to speak and direct on your behalf, irreversible vegetative state and other medical criteria should be discussed and be put in writing in order for your wishes to be fulfilled. If these wishes are to be abided by your medical professional and family they should be put in writing and given each time you are hospitalized to the medical staff to be included in your permanent medical records. Any changes that are made should be added to this medical record in order for your most recent wishes are abided by. Ethically and legally if theses advance directives are in writing the medical staff will abide by the rules you have set forth. A living will allows you to indicate...
Words: 653 - Pages: 3
...End-of-life care is often associated with a myriad of legal/ethical requirements that medical practitioners have to comply with, failure to which there very grave consequences both to individuals and health care institutions. Advance directives comprises of one’s wish about his or her health care decision in case he or she is incapacitated to an extent that they cannot make their own health decisions. The common functions associated with advanced directives include consent and capacity, artificial feeding, life-sustaining treatment, basic care, withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining treatment, withdrawal of life-prolonging treatment, and euthanasia (assisted dying). Ideally, people usually tell doctors their wishes. However, in cases a person is not in a position to make their own health care decisions another means of communicating his decision are necessary (National Cancer Institute, 2011b). This is where advance directives come in. The two main types of advance directives are durable powers of attorney for health care and the living will. The...
Words: 900 - Pages: 4
...Schiavo Case/Advance Directives The life and death tug-of-war over a person’s life, not only is it heartbreaking but a difficult choice to make for family and loved ones. As human beings we try to hold on to any little bit of life a loved one might have just to be with them a little be longer. Unfortunately, we do not know what they are feeling inside or what the loved one is going thru emotionally; are they in immense pain or how much discomfort are they experiencing? How about their dignity of life? As humans we hold on to the “Faith” that there could be a slight chance of a “Miracle” happening. That miracle being a medical triumph or even the loved one making a recovery miracle by their unwillingness to give up, the will power to fight and overcome all obstacles. As I was reading the Terri Schiavo case, I could see how a family could be torn apart. Everyone had an opinion on her life and what should be done, her family wanted to keep her alive as long as possible and her husband he wanted to follow thru with her wishes as she had mentioned on a few occasions “that she did not want to live her life as a vegetable.” After so many years of the family fighting for Terri to stay alive and her husband fighting to end her life as she wished, Terri was fighting her own fight, with no one to listen to her. As a mother’s love I could see how Terri’s mother did not want to let her daughter go, it’s heartbreaking, no mother wants to see their children go before their time is up. Years...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
