When it comes to medical decisions about a procedure or a treatment that needs to be done for your safety, you are the one who settles if you want to approve it or not. But what if you are incapable of communicating with your doctor? Someone has to make the choice for you, and that is why it is important to make a power of attorney.
Specifically, we mean for healthcare purposes because you do not know if an emergency occurs and you cannot answer for the actions that your doctor has to make. It is important that you choose the person that you trust the most to become your healthcare agent.
So you need to know what you need to put in your power of attorney. Luckily, there are forms that can help you fill it out and we are going to show you where you can obtain it and other details of interest.
What is a Healthcare Power of Attorney?
Normally, a power of attorney is a legal document that gives the control and decisions of a property or business to another person. This is to authorize someone as your agent to take action in legal procedures.
In medicine, this becomes a document where you are giving the power of deciding medical treatments to a healthcare agent. For example, if you have to undergo a risky procedure during surgery, one of your loved ones needs to step up and make a decision since you cannot answer for yourself.
When you cannot communicate your desires for a medical procedure, the power of attorney is the right document to use. Not only you can choose who will make the choices, but also write a message to the doctors.
For example, you could write that if you are ever in a coma, and after three months of healthcare there is not any signal of waking up, you demand to be disconnected.
Situations where a medical power of attorney is effective
You should prepare this document for any circumstances, as you do not know when you can lose the ability to talk. For example, a healthcare power of attorney becomes effective when:
- You are unconscious because of an accident
- Had to be administrated with anesthesia through your whole body for a surgery
- You Are in a state of coma
- Because of Alzheimer or ALS, you could even lose the ability to understand what your doctor is trying to say
- Any other decision that you write in the document has to be respected
- You suffer from short or long term memory loss
Reasons why you should write this document
We understand that writing a medical power of attorney is a hard decision; some of your relatives might disagree with what you put in. However, if you feel that being in a hospital for months is not helping, for the sake of your family and yourself you should take some actions.
This also includes searching for your healthcare agent. If you need someone to give consent on any medical procedure, it is going to be the person you choose. From a friend to a family member, you have to understand that they will have a big responsibility, as you are putting your life in their hands.
Filling a healthcare power of attorney
Every state has its regulations on how the power of attorney must be filled. There are various websites where you can download a power of attorney sample and use it.
Before you do, think of the things that you need to include, this is your healthcare agents, the actions, and medical decisions they can take. Once you fill it, usually it needs to be signed and notarized. Finally, provide a copy of the power of attorney to all of your agents so that they can use it if needed.
You can go to eForms or powerofattorney.com and choose the form you want to download. Here is an example of how the first page of a power of attorney form from Alabama looks like:
