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Advance Care Planning

Advance Care Planning is a process to determine and document what medical care you would want, and who you would want to make health care decisions for you, in the case of a serious health care crisis that prevented you from being able to make or communicate your own decisions. Advance directives (a Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney) are specific instructions, written to direct your medical care in the event that you are unable to make decisions or speak for yourself. A Living Will documents the types of care you would or would not want, while a Healthcare Power of Attorney designates someone to make health care decisions for you in case you lose the ability to do this for yourself. Many documents are available that combine both of these elements.

For most people with a serious health condition or life-limiting illness, the Goals of Advance Care Planning include the following:

  • Enhancing patient and family education about the patient’s illness, including likely course of the illness in the future and likely outcomes of available treatment options
  • Defining key priorities in the patient’s life and developing a plan of medical care that is based on personal goals
  • Helping to plan for future treatment, including end-of-life care, that is consistent with the patient’s preferences and values.

Effective Advance Care Planning involves taking the time to learn about end-of-life treatment options and services before a health crisis occurs. The health care professionals who know you are the best sources for information on advance care planning and your options for care. You can ask your doctor or nurse in the hospital or office for help. Working together with your doctor and family to determine and document your goals for care is the ideal process. Decisions should be guided by an understanding of the benefits and burdens of particular options such as chemotherapy, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), hospitalization, and tube feedings, and how these benefits and burdens compare to your personal goals and values.

Once your goals of care have been established, you can document your choices in an advance directive. Give copies to the person who will speak for you, other family members and your doctor. Then you can be sure your doctor knows about the care you would want if you become unable to make decisions because of a coma or medical condition that leaves you unable to decide or to speak for yourself.

Planning for care and documenting your choices in an advance directive (a Living Will and Healthcare Power of Attorney) can help to make the end of life a time of comfort and dignity... not a time of hurried choices.

For further information on advance directives you can contact:

Marian Kemp, RN, Medical Project Manager,Senior Markets, Highmark, Inc

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