The Complexities of Healthcare Proxies

Image Credit: Juhan Sonin

[ABSTRACT]

There is a push to encourage everyone to sign a health care proxy. For good reason. Medicine is increasingly able to prolong life, but not always quality life. Over treatment and under treatment concerns abound. People should designate someone they trust – a health care proxy – to articulate what interventions they want in life threatening situations, should they be unable to speak for themselves.

While the concept of health care proxies is straightforward, their successful use is another matter. Proxy papers get lost. The designated proxy is not available or does not know the wishes of the patient. Loved ones challenge the directives. Hospitals are unable to locate proxies that have been filed with them.

This topic has many complexities. This article focuses on one of the basic issues: making sure your health care proxy is easily found when needed.

A HEALTH CARE PROXY IS NO ORDINARY LEGAL DOCUMENT

Although many people consider a health care proxy to be a legal document, it should not be filed where people typically store important legal documents, such as a safe deposit box or your attorney’s office. A health care proxy is your effort to communicate your treatment choices to health care professionals in an emergency or time sensitive situation. You should keep your health care proxy where it can be easily found.

A HEALTH CARE PROXY SHOULD BE FILED IN MULTIPLE PLACES

Many people think that they need only have the original of their health care proxy. Not so! Because people cannot anticipate the circumstances that may require use of their health care proxies, it is best to keep copies where they can be easily retrieved in a variety of circumstances. Here are some suggestions:

• With your proxy (and any substitutes)
• With your primary care and specialist physicians
• In the glove compartment of your car
• In plain sight in your home, such as the refrigerator
• In your purse
• In your briefcase

For the full blog article please visit: http://whiteoakcottages.com/the-complexities-of-health-care-proxies-part-i/