What is a health care proxy?
A law, called the New York health care proxy law, allows you to appoint
someone you trust - for example, a family member or close friend - to
decide about treatment if you lose the ability to decide for yourself. You
can do this by using a Health Care Proxy to appoint your "health care
agent."
You can give the person you select as little or as much authority as
you want. You can allow your health care agent to decide about all health
care or only about certain treatments. You may also give your agent
instructions that he or she has to follow. You agent can then make sure
that health care professionals follow your wishes and can decide how your
wishes apply as your medical condition changes. Hospitals, doctors and
other health care providers must follow your agent's decisions as if they
were your own.
Why should I choose a health care agent?
If you become too sick to make health care decisions, someone else must
decide for you. Health care professionals often look to family members for
guidance. But family members are not allowed to decide to stop treatment,
even when they believe that is what you would choose or what is best for
you under the circumstances.
Appointing an agent lets you control your medical treatment by:
- allowing your agent to stop treatment when he or she decides that is
what you would want or what is best for you under the circumstances;
- choosing one family member to decide about treatment because you
think that person would make the best decisions or because you want to
avoid conflict or confusion about who should decide;
- and, choosing someone outside your family to decide about treatment
because no one in your family is available or because you prefer that
someone other than a family member decide about hour health care.
How can I appoint a health care agent?
All competent adults can appoint a health care agent by signing a form
called a Health Care Proxy. You don't need a
lawyer, just two adult witnesses.
When would my health care agent begin to make treatment decisions for
me?
Your health care agent would begin to make treatment decisions after
doctors decide that you are not able to make health care decisions. As
long as you are able to make treatment decisions for yourself, you will
have the right to do so.
What decisions can my health care agent make?
Unless you limit your health care agent's authority, your agent will be
able to make any treatment decision that you could have made if you were
able to decide for yourself. Your agent can agree that you should receive
treatment, choose among different treatments, and decide what treatments
should not be provided, in accord with your wishes and interests. If your
health care agent is not aware of your wishes about artificial nutrition
and hydration (nourishment and water provided by feeding tubes), he or she
will not be able to make decisions about these measures. Artificial
nutrition and hydration are used in many circumstances, and are often used
to continue the life of patients who are in a permanent coma.
How can I give my agent written instructions?
See Instruction for Filling Out a
Health Care Proxy.
How will my health care agent make decisions?
You can write instruction on the proxy form. Your agent must follow
your oral and written instructions, as well as your moral and religious
beliefs. If your agent does not know your wishes or beliefs, your agent is
legally required to act in your best interest.
Who will pay attention to my agent?
All hospitals, doctors and other health care facilities are legally
required to obey decisions by your agent. If a hospital objects to some
treatment options (such as removing a certain treatment) they must tell
you or your agent IN ADVANCE.
What if my health care agent is not available when decisions must be
made?
You can appoint an alternate agent to decide for you if your health
care agent is not available or able to act when decisions must be made.
Otherwise, health care providers will make treatment decisions for you
that follow instructions you gave while you were still able to do so. Any
instructions that you write on your Health Care Proxy form will guide
health care providers under these circumstances.
What if I change my mind?
It is easy to cancel the proxy, to change the person you have chosen as
your health care agent, or to change any treatment instructions you have
written on your Health Care Proxy form. Just
fill out a new form. In addition, you can require that the Health Care
Proxy expire on a certain date or if certain events occur. Otherwise, the
Health Care Proxy will be valid indefinitely. If you choose your spouse as
your health care agent and you get divorced or legally separated, the
proxy is automatically cancelled.
Can my health care agent be legally liable for decisions made on my
behalf?
No. Your health care agent will now be liable for treatment decisions
made in good faith on your behalf. Also, he or she cannot be held liable
for costs of your care, just because he or she is your agent.
Is a health care proxy the same as a living will?
No. A living will is a document that provides specific instructions
about health care treatment. It is generally used to declare wishes to
refuse life-sustaining treatment under certain circumstances. In contrast,
the health care proxy allows you to choose someone you trust to make
treatment decisions on your behalf. Unlike a living will, a health care
proxy does not require that you know in advance all the decisions that may
arise. Instead, your health care agent can interpret your wishes as
medical circumstances change and can make decisions you could not have
known would have to be made. The health care proxy is just as useful for
decisions to receive treatment as it is for decisions to stop treatment.
If you complete a Health Care Proxy form, but also have a living will, the
living will provides instructions for your health care agent, and will
guide his or her decisions.
Where should I keep the proxy form after it is signed?
Give a copy to your agent, your doctor and any other family members or
close friends you want. You can also keep a copy in your wallet or purse,
or with other important papers. The Healthcare Association of New York
State and the New York Chapter of the Society of Patient Representatives
have developed a wallet-size version of the Health Care Proxy that enables
you to carry this with you at all times.
Does completing the wallet-size version mean that I don't have to fill
out a full-size Health Care Proxy form?
The wallet-size version of the Health Care Proxy form is an abbreviated
version of the full-size Health Care Proxy form.
This card is intended to be carried with you; you should still complete a
full-size version of the proxy form and give copies to your agent, your
doctor, your attorney, and any other family members or close friends you
choose.
APPOINTING A HEALTH CARE AGENT IS A SERIOUS
DECISION. MAKE SURE YOU TALK ABOUT IT WITH YOUR FAMILY, CLOSE FRIENDS,
AND YOUR DOCTOR.
DO IT IN ADVANCE, NOT JUST WHEN YOU ARE
PLANNING TO ENTER THE HOSPITAL.
FILLING OUT A HEALTH CARE PROXY IS VOLUNTARY,
NO ONE CAN REQUIRE YOU TO DO SO.