An advance healthcare directive can also be termed as a medical directive or advance decision. It can be described as a legal document that a person gives directives on what should be done in case one is unable to make decisions on their own due to an illness or lack of capacity. It is important for any adult to have an advance directive where they explain the acceptable kind of healthcare one would like or even appoint a person who can make the decisions on their behalf and ensure that all the wishes have been met. An advance directive is a general term that describes a living will or a signed power of attorney giving an attorney the right to make any healthcare decision when necessary.
It is crucial to have an advance directive when planning the future in Virginia regarding the healthcare decision. The main advantage of having an advance directive is that it will assist the physician to give the appropriate care rather than wasting time trying to find out a person’s wishes (Lashlee, 2015). In order to acquire a living will in Virginia no specific criteria is required as long as one meets the Virginia Healthcare Decisions Act to make it legal and effective. There are three main objectives required to be accomplished in a medical directive. The first objective is to ensure you appoint an agent who will act on your behalf. Secondly, you should list down all the healthcare instructions you want to be followed. Lastly, you have an option of choosing whether or not you would like to donate any organs if an emergency arises. Any adult beyond the age of 18 years can be able to access the living will form ( Krohm & Summers, 2002). The compliance law requires one to have a signatory who acts as the agent responsible.
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Virginia medical advance directive gives one the opportunity to give out a choice of the kind of healthcare they would like to receive or appoint someone who can make those choices for them. The state also allows you to revoke your medical advance directive at any given time by signing the changes you would like or by tearing the original papers and terming them null and void (Lashlee, 2015). However, it is important to let the persons involved in any changes you have made or if you have terminated the directive. Having in mind what are your wishes it is easy to fill out an advance healthcare directive. In addition, one can be able to provide a copy of the living will to the people who know it exists. One of the biggest challenges faced while filling a medical directive is that it can get so emotional. This might delay or even postpone the process.
A Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is a medical order written to show your wishes concerning some types of treatment that are used during an emergency. This form is filled by the patient and the caregiver after a discussion is concluded on the illness, the possible outcome of the future and finally the kind of treatment that is available to the patient. Its aim is to allow the emergency personnel to follow the guidelines and it travels with a patient ( Krohm & Summers, 2002). The POLST form can be completed by people who are in the final years of life with terminal illnesses which they are not likely to recover. POLST can be filled when one realizes that they have a terminal illness or when they know they have a short period of time to live. POLST can be made legal if you fill it with the help of your doctor and in some states, it can only be provided by your physician.
There is a difference between an advance directive and a POLST; however, both documents should be discussed by the healthcare provider. An advance directive describes a document recognized by the law which can be used to guide the healthcare provider on the kind of treatment the patient wishes to use (Lashlee, 2015). POLST are orders a patient gives to the caregiver to be conducted when there is a medical emergency. The major difference is that in advance directive, a patient aims to make an appropriate decision to their relatives and friends of their last wishes or at the end of life. On the other hand, POLST is for patients who are aware of their current health status and they are indicating the best course of treatment to be taken when the right time comes. POLST provide the caregiver with medical orders to be undertaken while living will tends to provide instructions for any upcoming treatment. An advance directive does not guide any emergency personnel on a specific way of action while POLST does.
It is important for patients to use both the advance directive and POLST when planning your healthcare in the future. The two of them ensures that all your desired wishes have been met in a detailed manner. It also gives you control on medical care to the end of your life and give you an opportunity to have a conversation with your loved ones as you reflect the values you believe in till the end of life.
References
Lashlee, E. J. (2015). Protection book. a guide to asset protection . Place of publication not identified: LULU COM.
Krohm, C., Summers, S. K., & American Bar Association. (2002). Advance health care directives: A handbook for professionals . Chicago, Ill: American Bar Association, Senior Lawyers Division.
