An advance directive is a way to tell your loved ones and doctors your wishes if something happens and you can’t speak for yourself. A directive can include the type and extent of your medical care.

States generally allow a person (principal) to appoint another person (agent) to make health care decisions, receive protected health information, or both on the principal’s behalf. In many states, ...

Completing an advance directive form is a great way to write down health care wishes before a medical crisis occurs. These legal documents help loved ones and doctors know what medical treatments a ...

Filling out an Advance Directive with a loved one. (Get it Done SB photo) If you experienced a life-threatening emergency tomorrow and were unable to speak for yourself, would your loved ones and ...

More clinicians now use Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment forms to record care wishes for nursing facility residents, but whether the resulting conversations lead to high-quality care ...

Are you interested in having one on file? The best time to prepare your Advanced Medical Directive (pdf) is before a circumstance arises where one may be needed. An Advance Health Care Directive (or ...

We hear a lot of talk about being prepared for an emergency. Some emergencies in life are medical, and there’s a way to plan ahead for how to handle emergency medical care for yourself or your loved ...

HOME VERSUS HOSPITAL: Attorney Eva Clement, who helps people prepare advance-care directives, notes that the legal world hasn't caught up with the cultural shift from at-home to institutionalized ...

A serious cycling accident on Gibraltar Road, a freeway collision, a stroke — any of these could take away your ability to communicate, and they can happen at any age. The Advance Care Directive is a ...

Welcome to State of Mind, a new section from Slate and Arizona State University dedicated to exploring mental health. Follow us on Twitter. When people hear the term “advance directive,” they usually ...

No one likes to think about worst-case scenarios, particularly when it comes to their future health problems, and what could happen in the event they are unable to make their own health care decisions ...