Five Wishes: What It Is and What It Covers
You may have heard of an advance directive as a way to put healthcare wishes in writing for a time when you cannot speak for yourself. Five Wishes is one type of advance directive, but it covers more than medical treatment decisions alone. It also gives you a place to name the person you want […]
What Happens to Your Old Advance Directive After You Create a New One?
Creating a new advance directive can feel like the end of the process. You reviewed your wishes, made the changes you wanted, signed the new document, and now have an updated plan. There is still one important step left. What happens to all the copies of your old advance directive? An outdated copy may still […]
Living Will, DNR or POLST: Why These Terms Shouldn’t Be Used Interchangeably
A living will, a DNR, and a POLST can all communicate important information about medical care. That does not make them interchangeable. One can describe wishes for future medical treatment. Another addresses whether CPR should be attempted if a person’s heart stops or they stop breathing. The third turns current treatment decisions into medical orders […]
Your Advance Directive Is Safe. Is It Accessible?
An advance directive is an important legal document, so keeping it somewhere safe makes sense. You want it protected from loss, damage, or access by people who shouldn’t have it. At the same time, an advance directive is a document that someone else may need when you can’t retrieve it yourself. That makes accessibility part […]
How to Create an Advance Directive: Where Do You Start?
You know you should have an advance directive. What are you actually supposed to decide before you create one? It can feel like a lot to figure out. What medical care would you want in a situation you’ve never faced? Who would you trust to make decisions for you if you couldn’t make them yourself? […]
Where to Store a Living Will?
You took the time to create a living will. Now, where should you keep it? It may seem like a simple and obvious question. A living will is an important legal document, so keeping it somewhere safe makes sense. Safety is only part of the equation. Accessibility matters just as much. If the document is […]