Application Paper 2

Application Paper 2

Introduction

Health care advance directives are the legal documents. These legal documents are needed to so that person's wished about healthcare treatment are looked at if there is a case such as person is not able to communicate or take healthcare decisions. When one looks at it, there are mainly two types of advance directives:

A Living Will

In such case of advance directives, the person's instruction about healthcare preferences is looked at. It mostly pertain matter and discussion about the end of life matters. They are needed if person has lost his ability to make rational healthcare decisions.

Durable Power of Attorney

In durable power of attorney, person is appointed who might act as a proxy or health care agent is allowed to make healthcare decisions that affect or influence the person. It is needed when the principal in event is not in his capacity to make logical or rational healthcare decisions.

In normal cases, most of the people communicate about their healthcare wished to the doctor. But when the person has this incapability to make such decisions, there is a need for another way that must be find out to ensure that such decision is made (Silveira et al, 2010).

The advance directives play is designed for such purpose. When there is no advance directive, then some other person who is not related to the person whose healthcare decision is needed to be taken is called. In many states, there are default surrogate (Tulsky, 2005). They are usually people who are next kin to the person whose decision is needed to be taken. If any state is not permitting the surrogate decision or surrogate law, then the person who is required to make the decision is usually the next kin but this time around, the legal implications of such decision making is not very clear.

A Living Will

A living will is a limited document that is used when person's preferences about the type of medical care he wants to receive in the future is needed to be looked at. It is called living as the document is only effective till the person is alive and pertain no value after the person has deceased (Tulsky, 2005). Many of the states call it a Medical Directive when its declaration is made to the doctors. The main focus of the living will is to ensure that end of life care is provided, but there are other things as well that are included in the document.

One important thing that has to be kept in mind when one talks about the living will is that it is not effective when person has this capacity to make healthcare decisions. There are state laws as well that make sure that this person has particular conditions that makes him unable to take his healthcare decisions. Most of the times, the term that is used for such illness are terminal condition or permanent unconsciousness. There are additional conditions as well that are recognized at the ...