Making Health Care Decisions | Start The Conversation | Your Right Under The Law
What Are Advance Directives? | Artificial Nutrition & Hydration

What are “Advance Directives”?
Advance Directives are documents which state your choices about medical treatment or name someone to make decisions about your medical treatment if you are unable to make these decisions or choices yourself. Through Advance Directives, you can make legally valid decisions about your future medical care.

Most states recognize 3 types of Advance Directives:

1. A Living Will
   
2. An Appointment of Health Care Agent
   
3. An Oral Directive

Do I have to have Advance Directives?
No, but if questions arise about medical treatment, Advance Directives may help to clarify these important issues.

Will I receive medical care if I do not have an Advance Directive?
Yes, however, there is a chance that you will receive more treatment or procedures than you may want. If you cannot speak for yourself, and you do not have any Advance Directives, you health care provider will look to the following people, in the order listed, for decisions about your care:

1. Your guardian, if a court has appointed one;
   
2. Your spouse;
   
3. Your adult children;
   
4. Your parents;
   
5. Your adult brothers or sisters; or
   
6. A friend or any relative who has maintained enough regular contact with you to be familiar with your activities, health and personal beliefs.

Whom should I talk to about Advance Directives?
Before writing your instructions, you should talk to those people closest to you. Discuss them with your family, your doctor, and other appropriate people. These are the people who will be involved with your health care if you are unable to make your own decisions.

When do Advance Directives go into effect?
Advance Directives go into effect when you can no longer make your own health care decisions. As long as you are able to give “informed consent,” your health care provider will rely on YOU and NOT on your Advance Directives.

What is Informed Consent?
Informed consent means that you are able to understand the nature, and probable consequences of medical treatment and are able to make evaluations of the risks and benefits of those treatments as compared with alternatives.

How will my health care providers know if I have Advance Directives?
Upon enrollment, you will be asked if you have any Advance Directives. If you answer “Yes,” you will be asked for a copy so that it can become part of your medical record while you are a patient. It is your responsibility to communicate the fact that you have these documents to your physician and significant others.

Can I change my mind after I write an Advance Directive?
Yes, you can cancel or change any Advance Directive that you have written by destroying the original document. Be sure to notify everyone involved about this decision. To change an Advance Directive, complete and date a new document. Give copies of your revised documents to all the appropriate parties, including your doctor.

If you wish to cancel an Advance Directive while you are in the hospital, you should notify your doctor, your family, and others who may need to know.

Do I need a lawyer to help me write Advance Directives?
There is no legal requirement to do so, however, a lawyer may be helpful to you. Click herefor the Maryland Advance Directive Workbook

What if I have questions regarding completion of my Advance Directives?
If you have any questions, contact the Community Relations Department at 301-791-6360.

What is a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care?
In many states, a “Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care” is a signed, dated, and witnessed paper naming another person, such as a husband, wife, daughter, son, or close friend, as your “agent” ot “proxy” to make medical decisions for you if you would become unable to make them for yourself. You can include instructions about any treatment you want or wish to avoid. Some states have specific laws allowing a health care power of attorney and provide printed forms.

Which is better: A Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney??
In some states, laws may make it better to have one or the other. It may also be possible to have both, or to combine them in a single document that describes treatment choices in a variety of situations (ask your doctor about these) and names someone (called your “agent” or “proxy”) to make decisions for your, should you be unable to make decisions for yourself.

* Click here for additional Q&A’s as well as to the Advance Directive Form.

We hope this information is helpful to you and realize that we may not have been able to answer all of your questions. Please do not hesitate to ask. It is an important issue, and it is your right.

For more information about Maryland Advance Directives.

• Maryland Attorney General’s Website
• EMS DNR (Emergency Medical Services Do Not Resuscitate Form)
• Advance Directive Workbook