Advance Directive Essay

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Signed by a competent individual, an Advanced Directive is a legal document that manages medical and health-care decisions in the occurrence an individual becomes incapacitated. Advance Directives are not just for the elderly in a medical crisis nevertheless a medical crisis can happen at any age, at any time, leaving an individual unable to make health care decisions. Advance Directives act as a guide for making a patients choices known for doctors and caregivers if terminally ill, in a coma, near the end of life, critically injured, or in the late stages of Alzehmeiers and Dementia. There are several legal documents individuals can use when making their requests know and the procedures are simple for filling the forms out, however an attorney …show more content…

Three different types of Power of Attorneys are available: The first is a General Power of Attorney. This document authorizes the appointee the power to make an array of decisions concerning business, medical, legal and financial. A Special Power of Attorney only gives power for a limited time or a particular instance. A Durable Power of Attorney continues to remain active after a person has become incapacitated and limits decisions to specific areas. A person acting as the Durable Power of Attorney can implement several important necessities for example: making medical decisions not covered by a living will. The appointed Medical Power of Attorney in a legal document is supposed to make all medical decisions. The document can specify when the acting person takes on the responsibility of Medical Power of Attorney. This document can identify if medical interventions are wanted or not needed. Two forms guide the Medical Power Of Attorney: the “Living Will” and “Advance Medical Directive” and clearly indicates what course of action the patient would want taken in medical circumstances. Several states unite the Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for healthcare into an "Advance Health Care