An Advanced Healthcare Directive allows an individual to choose an agent to make medical decisions on their behalf and select end-of-life treatment options. An advance directive combines a medical power of attorney and a living will. It is recommended to be completed by elderly individuals and those seeking high-risk medical procedures. Why is it important? The document allows loved ones to make medical decisions on a person’s behalf.  It also outlines their preferred life-saving treatment options. It is a combination of a medical power of attorney and a living will.

Receiving medical treatment, especially when dealing with serious illness or end-of-life situations, often comes with many different decisions to make. Do you want to be kept alive no matter what, even if you’re suffering? Should you undergo a risky surgery? If you do pass away, do you prefer a burial or a cremation? Advance directives help to erase ambiguity in situations where doctors can’t ask patients how they wish to be treated.