Advance Directives - Durable Power Of Attorney For Health Care

A durable power of attorney for health care, also called a medical power of attorney, designates a health care agent or proxy authorized to make medical treatment decisions on behalf of a patient who can no longer make these decisions for himself or herself. (See Figure 7.3, Part 1: Power of Attorney for Health Care.) The role of this agent or proxy begins as soon as the physician certifies that a patient is incompetent to make his or her own decisions. The agent's role may or may not be limited to end-of-life care.

Is a Durable Power of Attorney the Same as a Living Will?

While a living will provides specific directions about medical treatment, it cannot address every possible future medical situation. Most standard living wills apply only to limited circumstances, such as terminal illness or permanent FIGURE 7.3
Advance health-care directive, 1995 coma. There are, however, many medical treatments that require decision making. Examples of these are surgical procedures, diagnostic tests, blood transfusion, the use of antibiotics, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

A durable power of attorney for health care is generally more flexible than a living will. It allows individuals to appoint proxies (agents) who will use their judgment to respond to unforeseen situations based on their knowledge of the patient and the patient's values and beliefs. Since there is no uniform advance directive statute nationally, the rights of health care agents vary across states. Limits on agent's powers in each state as of January 1, 2002, that were still valid in May 2004 are shown in Table 7.1.