Check Your Health- Emergency Preparedness: Make an Advance Directive

Emergencies happen and sometimes it’s a medical emergency, like if you are in a serious car accident or get a sudden critical illness. And sometimes these emergencies make it so a person cannot speak for themselves. Part of emergency preparedness is planning ahead for medical emergencies long before they happen, so decision-making is more straightforward in a moment of crisis.

April 16 is National Healthcare Decision Day, which encourages people to create an advance directive or legal document that identifies who can make medical decisions on your behalf, if you become too sick to make those decisions, yourself. That person is called a healthcare agent.

What an advance directive can do

An advance directive is a form used to identify who you would want to make medical decisions for you if you were unable to do so. It also allows you to inform healthcare providers and your loved ones about what types of treatment you want or don’t want.

There are many reasons people can become unable to speak for themselves, even if just temporarily. This can include serious injuries or illnesses where a person is mentally or physically incapacitated or more permanent conditions such as dementia.

Advance directives are important legal documents, but you do not need a lawyer to complete one. The most important part of completing an advance directive is naming you medical decision-makers, and if you happen to include a description of what a minimally acceptable quality of life means to you, even better.

When to make an advance directive

Advance directives are important for anyone over 18, and even younger if they have a serious chronic condition.

Advance directives should be updated any time you receive a serious diagnosis, your health is declining, you get married or divorced, or your healthcare agent dies or becomes unable to serve as your agent.

There is another form to specify about life-sustaining treatment

“Advance directives are not medical orders. If you would rather die comfortably than receive CPR – or, in other words, if you wish to have an active ‘DNR’ or ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ order, it’s important to complete another short form called a Provider Order for Life Sustaining Treatment,” said Hannah Belnap-Gunn, PA-C a palliative care physician assistant at Intermountain Health.

“This form is used to protect people from receiving medical therapies they don’t want and must be signed by a medical provider and posted in your home where loved ones and emergency crews can easily see it. Talk with your medical provider if you want to complete this form,” she added.

Free virtual workshops on advance care planning

Intermountain Health is offering free one-hour virtual workshops which help people get started with the necessary steps to complete advance care planning.

The free workshops are offered:

• Wednesday, April 9 at 2:00
• Tuesday, April 29 at 10:00
• To register, scan the QR code on your screen or visit the Advance Care planning webpage on intermountainhealth.org.

Click here for copies of the Utah forms for Advance Directives.