Advance
directive is a general term that refers to your oral or written instructions
about your future medical care, in the event that you become unable
to communicate those instructions yourself.
PSDA '90
The
Patient Self-Determination Act of 1990 is Public Law 101-508, Section
4206 and 4751. It was enacted November 5, 1990, as part of OBRA '90,
the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990.
Patient Self-Determination
This
refers to the right of competent adults to make their own medical treatment
decisions, and includes the right to complete advance directives, saying
how and/or by whom decisions should be made in the future in the event
the person becomes incapacitated and unable to make his or her own decisions.
Informed Consent
This
is a legal term referring to the right to make medical treatment decisions.
Under state law, it typically includes the right to be informed of one's
medical condition and prognosis, the risks and benefits associated with
a recommended procedure or course of treatment, and what alternatives
exist. In the case of mental incapacity, an individuals right to give
or withhold informed consent typically passes to the person's legal
representative, usually an agent or attorney-in-fact under durable power
of attorney, a court-appointed guardian, or close family member.
Advance Directives
A
written statement of instruction in a form recognized by individual
state law that addresses the provision of health care in the event of
incapacity. Forms of advanced directive vary from state to state, but
they typically include the living will, the durable power of attorney
for health care and the Health Care Proxy.
Living Will
A
document in which a person specifies the kind of life-saving and life-sustaining
care and treatment he or she does or does not wish to receive in the
event the person becomes both incapacitated and terminally ill. Many
states have their own titles for a living will document such as "Directive
to Physicians," "Declaration Concerning Health care,"
etc. Massachusetts law considers the document good evidence of patient
wishes; however, it is not legally binding in Massachusetts.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
This
is a legal document through which a person appoints someone else, an
"attorney-in-fact" or "agent," to act on the person's
behalf in making medical treatment decisions in case of future incapacitation.
Health Care Proxy
A
simple legal form that allows you to name someone of your choice to
make health care decisions for you, according to your instructions,
if for any reason you become unable to make or communicate those decisions
yourself. A Health Care Proxy is now legally
binding in Massachusetts.
Values History
The Values History Form,
developed at the Center for Health Law and Ethics, University of New
Mexico School of Law, recognizes that medical decisions we make for
ourselves are based on those beliefs, preferences and values that matter
most to us. A discussion of these and other values can provide important
information for those who might in the future have to make medical decisions
for that individual , when he or she is no longer able to do so. The
Values History Form is not a legal document, although it may be used
to supplement a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney for Health
Care.
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