Do you have an advance directive in place? If not, you may want to consider preparing yours to plan ahead for the future.
Advance directives are an essential part of advance care planning. It’s important to plan ahead of time, no matter your age. An advance directive explains how you want medical decisions to be made when you're too ill to speak for yourself. Advance directives are living documents that can be adjusted based on your circumstances and your health. That means that this document can be updated as new information becomes available and your health situation changes.
There are two main types of advance directives:
Health care proxy- A health care proxy is a document that names someone you trust, such as a family member or friend, to make health decisions if you can’t. You may also hear it referred to as a durable power of attorney.
Living will- A living will describes which treatment you want if your life is threatened, including dialysis and breathing machines, resuscitation, tube feeding, etc.
Some decisions you may include in your advance directive include, but are not limited to:
CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation)
Ventilator use
Artificial nutrition (tube feeding) and artificial hydration (IV, or intravenous, fluids)
Comfort care
Learn more about the types of advance directives and how to get one by downloading your own fact sheet below.
If you’re ready to prepare an advance directive, reach out to your healthcare provider, attorney, local Area Agency on Aging, or state health department. You can also learn more about advance directives by visiting Medicare.gov.
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