Scenario 1 - You are unmarried and you are injured in a car accident. Surgery is recommended and you are unconscious. Who makes the decision to operate?
Scenario 2 - You are in an irreversible coma. You estranged spouse and your parents are at your bedside; they disagree about whether life support should be continued. Who decides? (Sound familiar: this is similar to the Terri Schiavo situation)
Scenario 3 - You are a widower, unable to make financial decisions and require home health care or a nursing home. Your eldest child is financially irresponsible. Who decides?
These scenarios illustrate why it is important to have one or more health care planning documents. There are several terms used to describe health care planning documents. The definitions vary by state, but in general can be described as follows:
• Special Medical Power of Attorney (also known as a "Health Care Proxy') - allows a person to designate another individual who can give consent to medical procedures. The document can be effective whether or not a person's condition is terminal and irreversible.
• Durable Power of Attorney - allows a person (the "principal") to designate another person as "agent" to make variety of decisions on behalf of the principal, usually involving finance and business transactions. In the medical context, this document might give the agent access to funds in the principal's bank account to pay hospital bills. The durable power of attorney can be combined with the medical power of attorney.
• Living Will - allows a person to describe in advance what treatment options they authorize in the event they should have a terminal and irreversible condition. For example, a person may declare that they want doctors to withdraw or withhold life-sustaining procedures, such as artificial means of respiration.
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