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Patients who are faced with a terminal illness can create a living will, also known as a health care directive, that will outline all of their wishes regarding end-of-life care should they become unable to communicate on their own.

Portable advanced directives could be implemented by subsequent health care providers who are called upon to perform a treatment that a patient has previously declined. The issue of portability is raised whenever a patient with an advanced directive to limit treatment is transferred from one health provider to another.

One state's advance directive does not always work in another state. Some states do honor advance directives from another state; others will honor out-of-state advance directives as long as they are similar to the state's own law; and some states do not have an answer to this question.

Advance directives consist of (1) a living will and (2) a medical (healthcare) power of attorney. A living will describes your wishes regarding medical care. With a medical power of attorney you can appoint a person to make healthcare decisions for you in case you are unable to speak for yourself.

An advance directive, sometimes called a living will, is a document expressing a person's wishes about critical care when they are unable to decide for themselves. With an advance directive, individuals have the power to make future decisions about their own critical care without outside influence.

Definition of an Advance Directive A written instruction, such as a living will or durable power of attorney for health care, recognized under state law (whether statutory or as recognized by the courts of the State), relating to the provision of health care when the individual is incapacitated.