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Advance directives generally fall into three categories: living will, power of attorney and health care proxy. LIVING WILL: This is a written document that specifies what types of medical treatment are desired. A living will can be very specific or very general.

Types of Advance Directives The living will. Durable power of attorney for health care/Medical power of attorney. POLST (Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Do not resuscitate (DNR) orders. Organ and tissue donation.

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.

Many times, advance directives are too vague to guide clinical decisions. For example, general statements rejecting "heroic treatments" are vague and do not indicate whether you want a particular treatment for a specific situation (such as antibiotics for pneumonia after a severe stroke).

You can limit your agent's ability to do the following: Consent or refuse consent for specific types of care, treatment, service, or procedures. Select or discharge your health care providers or institutions. Approve or deny specific diagnostic tests, surgical procedures, or programs of medication.

They enable physicians and surrogates to make good-faith efforts to respect the patient's goals and implement the patient's preferences when the patient does not have decision-making capacity. An advance directive never takes precedence over the contemporaneous wishes of a patient who has decision-making capacity.

Advance directives are legally binding, so doctors have to follow them. False. Advance directives are legally recognized documents and doctors must respect your known wishes, but doctors can always refuse to comply with your wishes if they have an objection of conscience or consider your wishes medically inappropriate.

The two most common advance directives for health care are the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care. Living will: A living will is a legal document that tells doctors how you want to be treated if you cannot make your own decisions about emergency treatment.

Advance medical directive becomes effective only when a patient is no longer able to make their own decisions due to mental incapacity. This could be temporary or permanent. If temporary, the patient resumes decision making responsibilities once the temporary condition resolves.

What to include in your advance directive: The name and contact information of your healthcare agent or proxy. Answers to specific questions about your preferences for care if you become unable to speak for yourself. The forms and questions asked vary a bit from state to state.