PNDA Policy Summary

It is important that the patient is aware not only of their rights, but of their individual responsibilities.

This paper concerns the ethical basis for advance directives, or “Living Wills”; the value of these advance directives to the patients, their families; and the authorities that these advance directives give the above mentioned interested parties.

Every seriously ill patient and their family should have decided the following issues: proxy, resuscitation, hospitalization, and specific treatments. Every seriously ill person needs to have pointed out a person to speak on their behalf when they get too sick to do so. A “proxy” can be filled out at any hospital or nursing home granting “power of attorney” to a loved one to be able to make decisions. A person

In that regard, doctors expect to see more patients reporting for annual wellness examinations as is covered in Title IV of the act, enabling them to detect and prevent chronic diseases. There will also be a larger number of insurance plans covering services for children with preventive services and immunizations fully covered as indicated in Title I therefore pediatricians expect to have more patients. The PPACA provides funding for nursing education and loan repayment and for nurse managed health centers as indicated in Title V of the act. This increases the supply of the nursing workforce who are major primary patient care providers in hospitals and nursing homes, therefore increasing the quality of care. It also provides opportunities for nurses to meet primary care needs through the utilization of technology as a means to improve care delivery (Grossman & Sterkx, 2010).

The purpose of an advance directive is a legal document that will tell your caregivers and doctors, in the case you can’t communicate, how to treat you in a medical situation. Sometimes people can become terminally ill and/or sick and they become unable to make medical decisions should they need to. Advanced directives can by in many different varieties depending on a person’s preference and comfortability using and making. Each state has their own rules and guidelines and everyone should be aware of what their states laws are.

These directives are not always focused on life support, but can also include key decisions such as the types of treatments provided (surgical, nonsurgical, experimental, holistic) and set durations for treatment. Advanced directives can also establish proxies, transferring power of attorney over medical decisions to trusted family members or friends.

From working in long-term care settings for over two years, I have learned a lot about the importance of establishing a durable power of attorney for healthcare. I have seen how hard it is for family members to follow their loved one’s wishes at time. I have seen how loopholes can make it possible to not respect some one’s wishes. I have seen how difficult it is on both parties to write and follow this one simple form. When I saw this assignment, I thought about how important this document is, but also how difficult it can make things. Though I do not foresee needing to have this form now, it made me realize how quick and unexpectedly things can change and I am glad I filled one out and discussed it with those close to me. While I am glad I did it, I was surprised by how difficult it was to understand parts of the form, and once I understood them, how hard it was to make decisions on them.

The living will is a formal legal document that must be written and signed by the patient, it will describe the type of medical treatment the person would want or would not want in these situations. An attempt to prolong life should be started or stopped. This applies to treatments such as dialysis, tube feedings, or artificial life support. A power of attorney for health care is also called a health care power of attorney. It’s a legal document in which you name a person to be your proxy (agent) to make all your health care decisions if you become unable to do so. Your proxy or agent can speak with doctors and other caregivers on your behalf and make decisions according to directions you gave earlier. The person you chose decides which treatments

Advance Directives are extremely important because they allow others to express their wishes before they are too ill or incapable of doing so themselves, promoting one’s autonomy to make health care treatment choices. Advance Directives allow for individuals to have a plan set in case an unfortunate event happens. They intend to eliminate pain and suffering from family members by letting others know they followed the person’s wishes. Why is it that many people do not take the initiative to complete one? Some may argue that they are unaware of what an Advance Directive is. Others may claim that completing an Advance Directive is a waste of time because health care professionals may ignore it when it is necessary to consider it. Another perspective

Advance Directives are our wishes when we are at end of life stages of life that give specific direction of how, who, and when to treat us in our final days and hours. We can have documents drawn up to say what we want in the event we are in a state where we cannot voice our wishes aloud. These documents have legal and ethical basis, and they should be followed unless the legally or ethically unable to do so.

There are two fundamental documents which need to be executed during my life to ensure I receive the kind of healthcare I want if I was ever incapacitated. Both the living will and a durable health care power of attorney for health care will allow me to choose someone I trust to make certain medical choices on my behalf. The first is commonly called a living will. A living will allows me to instruct physicians and health care providers about the kind of health care I desire and do not desire if I am unable to tell them myself. The second document sets out who has power of attorney for my health care decisions, with the purpose they may answer questions in which may not be addressed by my living will. A living will and DPOA will give me relief

Advanced Directives and end of life decisions are something that anyone at any age can talk about. It is important to speak with your families about the care you do or do not want in life as anything can happen at any time. One tool that can be beneficial to patients is the Advanced Directive paperwork. There are three parts to this paperwork, part one is what the extent of illness that this paperwork would be activated, part two is who you would want to make decisions if you were unable to do so and part three speaks to your living will (Penn Medicine, 2017). This form is specific to Pennsylvania, as different states may have different regulations. Another important document that is useful to patients and their families is a POLST form (POLST, 2017). This is a form where there are four different sections that are addressed. All four sections are boxes that need to be checked to determine what treatment the patient wants. The first section, Section A, is where the person talks about if they want CPR or not. Section B speaks to the interventions the patient wants. The three options are full treatment, selective treatment or comfort treatment. Section C is where artificial feedings are addressed. Each patient has the option of long-term feedings, trial, or no artificial feedings. The last

The forms of an advance directive is making decisions on artificial feeding, do-not-resuscitate, do not hospitalize, living wills, power of attorney and organ donation are all part of the decision making of an advance directive (Brinkman 28). These documents in place do not mean do not treat but let the individual’s voice be heard. An individual should look at these

Advance care directives (ACD) are method or way that allows people to make a scheme or strategize their future. It

My father began describing his position on advanced directives and Medical Power of Attorneys by stating that he currently doesn’t have either of those documents. He realized that it makes sense for some people to have those documents. Advanced directives and Medical Power of Attorneys prevent family and friends from being stressed about making life-altering decisions on your behalf. They also