Staying Healthy
How to choose and guide your health care proxy
Make sure it’s someone you can trust, who’ll be able to carry out your wishes in a variety of circumstances and environments.
Imagine the people in your life as workers in a company that takes care of you. The job of health care proxy or health surrogate — the person who’ll make health care decisions for you if you become unable to make them yourself — would be considered a high-level executive. But many people leave that job vacant, or they give little direction to the person appointed to fill the role. If you do that, there might not be anyone to carry out your wishes.
How can you avoid that? You need to choose a health care proxy carefully, and then make clear to that person what you want. For advice on this challenging task, we turned to Dr. James Tulsky, chief of the Division of Palliative Medicine at Harvard-affiliated Brigham and Women’s Hospital and chair of the Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
To continue reading this article, you must log in.
Subscribe to Harvard Health Online for immediate access to health news and information from Harvard Medical School.
- Research health conditions
- Check your symptoms
- Prepare for a doctor's visit or test
- Find the best treatments and procedures for you
- Explore options for better nutrition and exercise
I'd like to receive access to Harvard Health Online for only $4.99 a month.
Sign Me UpAlready a member? Login ».
About the Author
Heidi Godman, Executive Editor, Harvard Health Letter
Disclaimer:
As a service to our readers, Harvard Health Publishing provides access to our library of archived content. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles.
No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.
