A health care proxy is a legal document that designates someone to make medical decisions on behalf of someone else in the event they are unable to communicate. It is different from a living will and it is important to discuss end-of-life wishes with the designated agent. Doctors can act as proxies and minors cannot be listed as agents.
A health care proxy is a legal document that authorizes someone to make health care decisions on behalf of someone else. Healthcare proxies are usually designed to take effect in the event that someone is incapable or unable to communicate, with the agent making decisions that reflect the wishes of the incapable individual. Many regions of the world recognize health care proxies, and some even actively encourage people to consider writing a health care proxies.
Healthcare proxies are a special form of power of attorney. They are written in such a way that they take effect only under certain circumstances, so that the agent does not have control over the principle’s health care when the principle is able to communicate and make decisions independently. Typically, a health care delegate details situations in which the document would be effective, such as going into a coma or persistent vegetative state.
This legal document is not the same thing as a living will. A living will is a document that expressly specifies the wishes of the patient in the event of certain medical situations. For example, a patient may indicate that he does not wish to be resuscitated in the event of a major seizure or heart attack. A health care executive designates someone to make medical choices, and while the agent’s decisions will ideally reflect the patient’s wishes, this may not always be the case.
When making a health care proxy, it is important to talk to the person who will be designated as an agent, to make sure they are willing to take on this task, and to explain what is expected. It’s also a good idea to talk to an agent about end-of-life wishes, ranging from a desire to avoid tube feeding to a desire to take every possible life-saving measure. Some people combine health care proxies with living wills, asking their proxies to enforce the provisions of the living will.
Often, a health care proxy authorizes a family member to act as an agent, although this is not always the case. Doctors can act as prosecutors as long as they are not directly involved in the case, and people under 18 cannot be listed as agents on a health care prosecutor’s office. When selecting an agent, people may want to consider issues such as geographic proximity and trustworthiness, and discussing the agent’s beliefs about end of life care is a good idea, as the delegate may have conflicting ideas about how issues such as pain management and life saving measures should be managed.
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