What is a health care directive and how does it work?

A health care directive is a legal document that allows you to set out your wishes regarding your health care in the event that you are not able to make decisions for yourself. In Arkansas, the most common health care directive is known as an advance directive. An advance directive allows you to name an individual, known as a proxy or agent, who will make decisions regarding your health care should you become unable to make those decisions yourself. In creating an advance directive, you will have the opportunity to state your wishes about what sort of care you would like to receive if you were unable to make decisions for yourself. This includes whether you would like to receive life-sustaining measures such as artificial respiratory support, dialysis, or other forms of medical treatments. You can also specify if you do not want such treatments to be used, under what circumstances, and which treatments you would like to receive. An advance directive will also allow you to designate someone to make decisions for you, even if you regain the ability to do so on your own. This individual could be a spouse, an adult child, a friend, or some other trustworthy person. Generally, this person will only be allowed to make decisions on your behalf if your treating physician confirms that you are unable to do so yourself. In Arkansas, it is important to have a health care directive in place so that your wishes are respected should you become unable to make decisions for yourself. With an advance directive, you can make sure that your wishes regarding your health care will be followed, even if you are unable to make informed decisions for yourself.

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What is a health care directive and how does it work?

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