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Your right to informed choice about health care The hospice programs of Beacon Hospice, like most health care providers, respect the rights of their patients to make choices about their health care. Patients may choose among available treatments. They may also choose to withhold or stop treatment at any time. These choices are noted on the patient's medical record. Problems sometimes arise when a person is unable to communicate choices because of an accident or illness. For example, if you were in a coma or terminally ill, would you want to prolong your life regardless of pain, chances for recovery and cost? Would you prefer to avoid life-prolonging measures if the chances for recovery were slim, knowing such a choice might hasten your death? Advance directives give you a way to protect your rights in such cases. Advance directives let you decide now what type of treatment you do or do not want. They also enable you to appoint a surrogate who will make these decisions for you if you cannot. How do I make advance directives? Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Click here to download a form that allows you to appoint someone to be your spokesperson regarding health matters if you are not able to speak for yourself. Print out the form from your computer, fill it out and give a copy to your assigned spokesperson, your doctor and your attorney. Who can witness the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and living will forms? Anyone over 18 can witness the signatures of the patient and surrogate, except: a spouse, a child, a grandchild, a brother or sister, an employee of a company that provides you with life or health insurance, or an employee of the health care agency or institution that is caring for you. A living will should be witnessed the same way. You can also request a copy by calling Beacon Hospice's administrative office at (843) 972-0500. Your surrogate must accept the role in writing, by signing the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care form. Notarization is not necessary, but the form must be witnessed. He or she will make decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so, including decisions on whether to begin, withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatments. Life-sustaining treatments include resuscitation, use of ventilators, dialysis, surgery and the giving of fluids and nutrition by artificial means, such as IV lines and tubes. The surrogate's job is to make the same choices you would make if you were able. Therefore, the surrogate, also called a patient advocate, should be someone you trust who knows how you feel about health care issues. You can help the surrogate by learning as much as you can about the choices that may have to be made and by telling your surrogate about your values and preferences. Why are advance directives important? Advance directives protect your right to make choices that affect your life. They are a way of letting your loved ones and your physicians know your wishes. Without advance directives, others will have to make decisions for you which may or may not be what you want. This places a heavy burden on them. A living will is another form of advance directives. A living will lets you state specifically what type of treatment you do or do not want. You can, for example, authorize transfusions and IV lines but refuse ventilator care. You can also specify the circumstances under which you will and will not accept certain treatments. How do health care providers decide who is unable to make decisions for themselves? People may become temporarily or permanently unable to make informed decisions about medical care because of unconsciousness, coma, persistent vegetative state, brain injury, mental illness or the influence of mind-altering drugs. The attending physician, often in consultation with other physicians and health care professionals, determines whether or not a patient is competent to make an informed decision about medical care. If the condition is temporary, the physician will determine when the patient is again able to make such decisions. What do I do with my advance directives after the forms are signed and witnessed? Give a copy to your physician, to your surrogate and to family or friends who would likely be notified in an emergency. It's a good idea to keep a card in your wallet stating that you have advance directives and noting where to find them. You should review your advance directives periodically and change them as necessary. When you are admitted as a patient by a hospital or health care agency, you will be asked if you have completed advance directives. You should give the admissions officer a copy so it can be placed in your medical record. You can also request a copy by calling Beacon Hospice's administrative office at (843) 972-0500. Your surrogate must accept the role in writing, by signing the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care form. Notarization is not necessary, but the form must be witnessed. Will Hospice honor my advance directives? Beacon Hospice first recognizes advance directives incorporated in a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. Then, it honors any other written directives, such as a living will. In the absence of written directives, the staff urges the surrogate decision-maker to consider preferences expressed verbally by the patient. The staff also considers information obtained at the time of admission and during the course of treatment whenever there is a question about patient care and the patient is unable to make the choice. |