|
|
Q&A on Importance of Signing a Medical Directive
Clearly Caring Magazine, 2nd Quarter 2010, Vol. 30, No. 2QUESTION: Why is it important to have a medical directive statement?
ANSWER: We at CLR recommend every adult sign a medical directive statement regardless of his or her current health situation or age.
The first benefit of such a statement is that it allows a person to provide direction for medical care in the event he or she is no longer able to make such decisions. Understandably, these directions must be somewhat general, because it is impossible to predict what malady will be faced.
The second benefit is that it allows a person to designate a health care agent to make decisions when the stated wishes of the document are too vague for the circumstance. If you do not have a statement a patient’s family often must guess about the kind of care the patient would want.
If family members disagree among themselves the situation becomes complicated, contentious and sometimes can only be settled by an ethics committee or through legal action.
Are you interested in receiving a copy of our CLR's Christian version of the POAHC for your state? A complimentary downloadable copy is available by clicking here.
Article Shortcut: http://www.christianliferesources.com?8718
Would a friend, relative, or acquaintance find a particular page or article useful? Fill out the form below to send it to a friend!
Please fill out the small form below to leave a comment or suggestion about the page you were just visiting. Any and all feedback is appreciated! Your feedback will help make our website even better.
