It’s hard to predict what will happen from one day to the next. That is why it is critical to prepare ahead.
The annual date of April 16 marks National Healthcare Choices Day, an endeavor to encourage people to make their future health care decisions before a crisis strikes. That includes taking the time to draft an advance directive, a document that informs loved ones, doctors, and facilities about the life-sustaining treatments a person desires if they are unable to speak for themselves.
To commemorate this nationwide campaign, eight Utah health groups have joined together to raise awareness about the need of making an advance directive. Comagine Health, Intermountain Health, MountainStar Healthcare, Steward Health Care, University of Utah Health, the Utah Hospital Association, the Utah Geriatric Education Consortium, and the Utah Nurses Association are among the organizations.
Gov. Spencer Cox has also named April 16 as Utah Healthcare Decision Day.
“The most crucial component of an advanced directive is naming a trustworthy health care representative who is aware of your preferences.” “This means you’ll have an advocate who can speak on your behalf regarding medical decisions when you’re unable to,” said Dr. Dominic Moore, a pediatric palliative care physician with University of Utah Health and senior medical director of palliative care at Intermountain Health, in a news release. “When a person’s wishes are unclear, these difficult circumstances might be fraught with ambiguity or guilt.”
When COVID-19 was fully implemented, many persons were faced with significant sickness or emergency situations in which they were unable to make their own decisions. Doctors who care for this and other very sick patients believe advance directives are crucial for everyone, especially if they have a major chronic disease.
During these often tough talks, palliative care specialists urge clients to express what makes them feel like they’re experiencing life rather than just existing. Advance directives assist to construct a picture so that people can make judgments concerning topics that are difficult to forecast in advance.
“Filling out an advance directive form and posting it makes it official.” But it’s also critical to talk with your health care representative and other loved ones about who has been designated to make medical decisions for you when you can’t. “These dialogues can also help people understand your beliefs and what quality of life is essential to you,” said Dr. Filip Roos, chief medical officer at MountainStar Healthcare, in the release.
Health care providers recommend updating advance directives every year or whenever one of the “four D’s” occurs: diagnosis, or receiving a serious diagnosis; decline in health; divorce, which typically impacts who is designated to make medical decisions on behalf of a spouse; and death of the designated health care representative.
“Having a written advance directive is especially vital for persons living in rural regions, since access to care frequently necessitates leaving your local town for treatment in a distant, metropolitan setting.” “Having legal paperwork during those difficult transitions helps ensure health care professionals are engaged in dialogues and your desires are upheld,” said Linda S. Edelman, director of the Utah Geriatric Education Consortium.
Advance directives can be done online, at home, on paper, or in a doctor’s office or hospital.
Further information, including state-specific criteria, may be found at nhdd.org. Advance directive forms for Utah are available in both English and Spanish at ucoa.utah.edu.
