An Advance Directive is a set of legally binding documents that allow your medical care to be placed in the hands of a trusted person in your life, should you lose the capacity to make healthcare decisions or "the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of health care decisions, including the benefits and risks of and alternatives to any proposed health care, and to reach an informed decision" (masslegislature.gov).
What is in it?❓
This form allows you to (1) Choose a medical decision maker or health care proxy and (2) Express you wished for care if you were to lose decision making capacity.
Who should I pick as my Health Care Proxy? 💁
- Person 18 years or older
- Someone you are comfortable talking about your end of life care and serious illnesses with
- Friends or family
- Not a doctor partaking in your care
- An advocate that is going to do the best for you
When should I fill it out? ✍
Any adult whether they are healthy or sick should complete an AD.
What decisions could be made and how do I know what is best for me? 🏥
The following are some examples of life-sustaining treatments:
Talk with your proxy and decide what kind of care you want. At this point in your life do you value quality of life or duration? At what point in your health status would be a tipping point to lean toward increasing comfort measures rather than life saving?
- Cannot bathe?
- Cannot eat?
- In a coma for greater that one month?
- Severe pain?
What else should I discuss? 🗣
You should discuss where you want to die (home, hospital etc.), your religious affiliation, organ donation preferences, burial preferences and autopsy wishes.
Caveats: 🙈
Be sure that you do not restrict your proxy too much as they could be limited to their decision making if an unforeseen circumstances occurs within your care.
What else?
Lastly, be sure to have two witnesses other than your proxy present when signing your advance directive.
Difference between MOLST form and AD?
MOLST (Massachusetts Medical Order for Life Sustaining Treatment): Medical document containing preferred orders effective right away, regardless of the capacity of the patient. This form is usually used with patients with advanced illnesses.
Advance Directive: Legal documents containing instructions for life sustaining care and an assigned proxy or proxies to carry out decisions pertaining to life-saving measures.
Difference between MOLST form and AD?
MOLST (Massachusetts Medical Order for Life Sustaining Treatment): Medical document containing preferred orders effective right away, regardless of the capacity of the patient. This form is usually used with patients with advanced illnesses.
Advance Directive: Legal documents containing instructions for life sustaining care and an assigned proxy or proxies to carry out decisions pertaining to life-saving measures.
References
Definitions. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleII/Chapter201D
MASSACHUSETTS ADVANCE DIRECTIVES. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.hampshire.edu/sites/default/files/shared_files/Advanced_Directive_and_Healthcare_Proxy.pdf
Massachusetts Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.molst-ma.org/consumers/faq
PREPARE is a step-by-step program with video stories to help you:. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://prepareforyourcare.org/content/default/common/documents/MA-PREPARE-Advance-Directive-English.pdf
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