Today I had my fifth lesson at Samsung Medical Center. I learned about advance medical directives, its history, and the difference between euthanasia and advance medical directives.
Advance Medical Directives
Other names of advance medical directives are advance directive, living will, or advance decision. It is a written document that mentions specifically or generally the kinds of treatments that a person wants to receive. Advance medical directives are essential when a patient who is suffering from a terminal or progressive illness cannot make medical decisions on his own behalf. They were created when numerous studies have documented how hard it is for patients and their families to wait for the moment of death. Advance directive policies differ from one nation to another. The three general types of advance directives are living wills, power of attorney, and health-care proxy.
Living Will
A living will is the oldest and most common form of advance medical directives. It was first mentioned in a 1969 law journal by Juis Kutner, an Illinois attorney. This proposal went into effect in 1991, and healthcare providers started giving patients information that they have the rights to choose which medical treatment they will receive. The most common statement in a living will is that “If I suffer an incurable, irreversible illness, disease, or condition and my attending physician determines that my condition is terminal, I direct that life-sustaining measures that would serve only to prolong my dying be withheld or discontinued.” The content of living wills can be specific: it can include information about antibiotics, breathing machines, and even CPR.
Health-care Proxy
A health-care proxy allows patients to appoint another person to make decisions on their behalf when they are unable to make health-care decisions. Naming a proxy can ensure that patients can get the treatments that want when they cannot communicate. The proxy can only make decisions when the patient is incapacitated; sometimes, the doctor will certify whether the patient is disabled or not before his proxy makes decisions for him. Specific information about the health-care proxy can be mentioned in the patient’s living will.
Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney, abbreviated DPOA, is a type of advance directive in which an individual carries out legal documents that provide a power of attorney to other people when they are in a disabled medical condition. A power of attorney is related to a broader range of activities compared to a living will or a health-care proxy. For instance, the DPOA allows an individual to sign social security checks, apply for disability, write checks to pay bills and make bank transactions.
Works Cited
“Health Care Proxies.” Medicare Interactive, http://www.medicareinteractive.org/get-answers/planning-for-medicare-and-securing-quality-care/preparing-for-future-health-care-needs/health-care-proxies.
Nabili, Siamak N. “Advance Medical Directives: Power of Attorney & Living Wills.” MedicineNet, http://www.medicinenet.com/advance_medical_directives/article.htm.
Adams, Beth. “Do You Have a Health Care Proxy? Most WNYers Don’t.” WBFO, news.wbfo.org/post/do-you-have-health-care-proxy-most-wnyers-dont.
“What You Need To Know About Creating A Living Will.” Everplans, http://www.everplans.com/articles/what-you-need-to-know-about-creating-a-living-will.
The Science Herald 