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Advance Directives Forms
You may be in robust health today. An emergency such as a car accident or a stroke could change that in a heartbeat, as could the diagnosis of a severe, life-threatening illness. Aging can also change your health landscape. If you haven't prepared advance directives or chosen a health care proxy, medical choices could be left to worried relatives or to a doctor or guardian appointed by a judge, none of whom may have a clear understanding of your values, beliefs, and preferences.
Advance Care Planning: A guide to advance directives, living wills, and other strategies for communicating health care preferences, helps guide you through the process of establishing advance directives and appointing a health care proxy.
Here are four key forms that can assist you are a Health Care Power of Attorney, a Health Decisions Worksheet, a Generic Living Will, a Sample POLST form, and an Advance Directives Tracking Sheet.
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.
Many older adults get health information from self-defined experts online
Routine cancer screenings for older adults: Mammograms, colonoscopies, PSA tests, and more
How PMOS (once called PCOS) affects women after menopause
Eating more soy and other legumes might ward off high blood pressure
Surgery for a torn meniscus appears to offer no benefit
AI in healthcare: Can a chatbot answer your medical questions?
Increasing daily steps may boost surgical recovery
Poison ivy rash: Symptoms, treatment, and prevention
Taming high blood pressure: How doctors find the right drug mix
Easy ways to add tofu to your diet
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