Advance Health Care Directive

An advanced healthcare directive, also known as a living will, is needed to ensure your wishes regarding medical care are honored if you become unable to make decisions for yourself. It provides a legal framework for communicating your preferences about treatment and who should make decisions on your behalf when you can't. This is crucial for ensuring your autonomy and minimizing confusion for loved ones and healthcare providers. 

The Oregon Health Authority publishes these forms on their website in many different languages. You can use the Advance Directive forms provided, which are copied from the Senate Bill 199 (2021). You do not have to use these specific forms, but any form you use must be substantially the same. They also provide The Advance Directive User's Guide to help you complete the Advance Directive form and answers questions you may have about it. 

https://www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/about/pages/adac-forms.aspx

Here's why they are important: [1, 1, 4, 4]

• Guiding Medical Decisions: If you become incapacitated, an advance directive tells doctors and caregivers what kind of care you want, including potentially rejecting treatments like life support or feeding tubes. [1, 1, 4, 4, 5]
• Protecting Autonomy: It allows you to exercise your right to make choices about your own healthcare, even when you can't communicate or make decisions yourself. [1, 1, 6, 6]
• Providing Peace of Mind: By planning in advance, you and your loved ones can experience less stress and anxiety during difficult situations, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. [1, 1, 6, 6]
• Reducing Conflict: An advance directive can help avoid disagreements and potential conflict among family members about what kind of treatment you www.oregon.gov/oha/ph/about/pages/adac-forms.aspxwould want. [7, 7]
• Designating a Healthcare Agent: It allows you to name a trusted person to make medical decisions on your behalf if you can't. [2, 2, 8, 8]
• Legal Certainty: The document serves as a legal document, providing guidance to healthcare professionals and ensuring your wishes are followed. [2, 2, 6, 6]

[1] https://www.adventhealth.com/hospital/adventhealth-orlando/blog/what-are-advance-directives-and-why-are-they-important
[2] https://www.cancer.org/cancer/managing-cancer/making-treatment-decisions/advance-directives/what-is-an-advance-health-care-directive.html
[3] https://www.ucihealth.org/patients-and-visitors/information-for-patients/advance-care-planning/benefits-of-advance-directives
[4] https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/living-wills/art-20046303
[5] https://bluenotary.us/advance-directives-meaning/
[6] https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/patient-care/patients-visitors/advance-directives
[7] https://edhub.ama-assn.org/pages/why-talk-to-patients-about-advance-directives
[8] https://www.caringinfo.org/blog/advance-directive-vs-living-will/