The ultimate in patient empowerment is to be prepared for the end of our lives. Recording how we want our lives to end, and expressing those decisions to those who need to know is paramount.
Advance directives are the expression, either in writing or orally, a person makes about how they wish to live out their last days or weeks of life. They are oriented toward medical care only; they do not address legal or financial questions that would be addressed in a Last Will and Testament.
Making your end-of-life wishes known does not have to be difficult. There are four steps you'll want to take to make your wishes known, legal and enforceable.
- Ask the right questions and make your own decisions about the answers.
- Record those answers in the appropriate documents. You may or may not need an attorney to help you with this, depending on where you live.
- Discuss your decisions and your wishes with your loved ones, and those who may surround you when you reach that time in your life when they'll need your answers.
- File or store any paperwork or electronic files you have produced as part of your directives so they can easily be found by your proxy or other loved ones in an emergency, knowing you may not be able to tell them where those files can be found.
