Advance Directives Summary What kind of medical care would you want if you were too ill or hurt to express your wishes? Advance directives are legal documents that allow you to spell out your decisions about end-of-life care ahead of time. They give you a way to tell your wishes to family, friends, and health care professionals and to avoid confusion later on. A living will tells which treatments you want if you are dying or permanently unconscious. You can accept or refuse medical care. You might want to include instructions on The use of dialysis and breathing machines If you want to be resuscitated if your breathing or heartbeat stops Tube feeding Organ or tissue donation A durable power of attorney for health care is a document that names your health care proxy. Your proxy is someone you trust to make health decisions for you if you are unable to do so. NIH: National Cancer Institute Start Here Advance Care Planning National Institute on Aging Advance Directives and Do Not Resuscitate Orders American Academy of Family Physicians End-of-Life Decisions National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Living Wills and Advance Directives for Medical Decisions Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research Put It in Writing: Questions and Answers on Advance Directives American Hospital Association Related Issues Advance Care Planning for Serious Illness Administration for Community Living Advance Care Planning: Medical Issues to Consider American Hospice Foundation Making Medical Decisions for a Loved One at the End of Life American College of Physicians Specifics Advance Directives American Cancer Society Advance Directives National Cancer Institute Healthcare Agents: Four Quick Steps to Naming Someone to Speak4me National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Legal and Financial Planning for People with Alzheimer’s Disease National Institute on Aging Psychiatric Advance Directives: Getting Started National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives Array Advanced care directives Deciding about treatments that prolong life Health care agents Clinical Trials ClinicalTrials.gov: Advance Directives National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Living Wills National Institutes of Health ClinicalTrials.gov: Resuscitation Orders National Institutes of Health Find an Expert Download Your State’s Advance Directives National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization State by State Info (Psychiatric Advance Directives) National Resource Center on Psychiatric Advance Directives Seniors Eldercare at Home: Advanced Directives AGS Foundation for Health in Aging Reference Desk Glossary National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Journal Articles Advance directives Living wills
