Can a Person Who Has Power of Attorney Make Health Care Decisions During Advance Care Planning for End-of-Life Issues? Discuss. Background

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Can a person who has Power of Attorney make health care decisions during advance care planning for end-of-life issues? Discuss. Background Making treatment decisions on behalf of critically ill patients with a high probability of death or prolonged morbidity is a common challenge in intensive or long term care. Patients are encouraged to convey their wishes for future medical treatment. This may be achieved through advance planning, either through a written document such as an advance care plan, or by appointing a person to make decisions on their behalf such as a medical enduring power of attorney. What are advance care directives? Advance directives are the plans that a patient makes for his or her future health care decisions in the event that he or she cannot make those decisions independently. Advance directives can be oral or in writing. Patients should be strongly encouraged to put their wishes in writing, this makes it easier for health practitioners who don’t know the patient to act according to their wishes. What is a power of attorney? A power of attorney is an authorisation for another person or ‘attorney’ to deal with an individual’s personal affairs. Generally this would be a written authority, signed, dated and witnessed by another person as proof of its validity. It should name the attorney who can act and specify, or restrict, the extent of the powers being granted. Typically, the document will set out the specific terms of who is appointed as attorney and what they are authorized to do. It must be noted however that an ordinary power of attorney ceases to be valid once the person who made it loses the mental capacity to continue to consent to it. To ensure power of attorney remains valid despite a person’s future mental deterioration an enduring power of attorney can be appointed by court order. Why have a power of attorney?

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