Many people put off creating an advance care plan because it’s uncomfortable. We get it. Talking about health isn’t always easy to do. But do you know what happens when a medical crisis arises and you don’t have a plan in place?
Confusion. Chaos. Delayed Care.
Recently a friend asked…”why are you always talking about advance directives? Isn’t that for old people near death?”
There’s no denying that advance directives play a critical role when it comes to planning for end of life care. But there’s more to it than that. Having an advance directive puts you in charge of YOUR health care by informing doctors and family members about the care you wish to receive should you become unable to speak up for yourself.
Why should this matter to you?
There’s a legal aspect to health care we rarely talk about that involves sharing of certain protected health information (PHI).
Remember this term – HIPAA. It’s short for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. This law guards against disclosing a person’s protected health information without their consent—including to spouses, children and parents of adult children.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard family members say…“But I am the next of kin. Why is the hospital giving me such a hard time to get my loved ones medical records?”
While hospitals and other health providers are supposed to have processes in place for disclosing PHI without permission, the rules could differ about what to share and who to share it with.
If it’s your life hanging in the balance, do you really want to leave such important decisions to chance? Wouldn’t it be better if you could spell out what you want and who you want making decisions on your behalf?
Relieve your family members from the difficult and often emotional burden of having to guess what you’d want. Give them the guidance to make informed decisions that are in your best interest.
What you should know about advance directives
Advance directives are legally recognized documents that describe your wishes for future medical care. The two main documents involved are:
- Healthcare Proxy (also called the Durable Power Of Attorney). This document allows you to designate a person to make medical decisions when you can’t do so yourself.
- Living Will. This document is where you specify the medical treatments and interventions you do (and don’t) want to guide doctors and your proxy.
People often believe that because these are “legal” documents, they can only be created through a lawyer. Not true.
You can get the advance directive documents from your state website and complete them yourself. Sometimes they’re available through health providers. In fact, if you have Medicare, talk with your primary care doctor about getting advance care planning as part of your Annual Wellness Checkup, or your carrier.
Eliminating the need to go at it alone
For most people, the problem isn’t accessing those documents. It is not having a clear understanding of the decisions they’re supposed to make. People get hung up on the optics surrounding end of life rather than see the bigger picture.
And this is where Healthwhiz Solutions come in.
Healthwhiz Solutions provides a one-of-a-kind experience where we hand hold clients through the process of creating their advance directives. We use proprietary technology that allows our trained advisors to conduct facilitator-led advance care planning sessions. We provide everything the individual will need to complete their plan including:
- legally compliant advance directive forms
- video capture and storage
- plan sharing, and
- compliant digital signatures
Our customers are our utmost priority. We take the time to educate each individual about advance directives, help them understand why they’re making certain decisions, and provide tips on how to have discussions with loved ones.
Ready to take control of your health care?
Get started today by booking a 1-on-1 Advance Directive Consultation. Click here to find out more about what you’ll get.
Enter Promo Code MYHOLIDAYWISH21 for $100 Off any session you buy now-01/03/22.
