Advanced Directives

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In this segment Dr. Edward Martin discusses advanced directives with his
sister Dr. Kathryn Martin, and brother Dr. John Martin.

An advanced directive is a document to name a person to speak for you when
you can’t speak for yourself in the case of a health crisis. A living will is a
type of advanced directive, but is much more limited in scope. The advanced
directive establishes a durable power of attorney for you for healthcare
decisions.

There are many states which have specific forms for this purpose. There is
also a form called 5 Wishes, which walks you through the process. There are 5
areas of importance that they focus on.

Name the person to make the health care decisions, and specify what you
want them to do.
Specify the kind of treatment you want or don’t want in a variety of
situations, to help give your agent some guidelines.
You specify how comfortable you want to be if you are ill.
You specify how you want people to treat you if you are ill.
You decide what you want your loved ones to know about your situation.

It is important that you make a copy of the document to give to your health
care provider. With the 5 Wishes form there is also a wallet sized document that
you can keep with you in case of an emergency.