Last Saturday was National Healthcare Decisions Day. Medical professionals are alerting the public to think about preparing the paperwork necessary should medical decisions need to be made on your behalf.
Leslie Schmidt is a medical ethicist with Ministry Health Care. She says the day was set aside for people to begin talking about having a plan in place before serious healthcare decisions need to be made...
".....starting that conversation with family and friends about what types of healthcare might be important to an individual, what kinds of decisions they would want made for them if they were unable to make them...."
She says starting the conversation with family and friends about what types of healthcare might be important to an individual, what kinds of decisions they would want made for them if they were unable to make them is essential...
".....may become part of a medical record. So when we're in a crisis and a tough decision needs to be made, or we're agonizing over a decision, we can look back at some of the choices someone has written down...."
Power of Attorney for Health Care, Living Will/Declaration to Physicians and Community Do-Not-Resuscitate order and Bracelet are the most common forms of written instructions that state wishes about future health care decisions. As a participating organization, Ministry Health Care provides information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare clinicians, and execute written advance directives in accordance with Wisconsin state laws.
