Power of Attorney for Health Care *

Reasons to Have a Power of Attorney for Health Care.

A Power of Attorney for Health Care (POA) is a document in which you give a certain person the authority to make health care and personal care decisions on your behalf. The person to whom you give this authority is called your agent or your attorney in fact. Despite the use of the word “attorney” in the title of the document, the person appointed as agent usually is not a lawyer. It is usually a spouse or other close relative or friend.

If you are not physically or mentally able to make decisions or express your wishes, then someone else must make decisions for you. A Power of Attorney is a way for you to decide in advance who will make decisions for you and to give that person guidance on how you want them to handle your affairs.

What Can the Agent Do for You?

The Power of Attorney can be drafted to give your agent the authority to make decisions concerning only certain issues, or it can give the agent the permission to make all decisions concerning health care and personal care. This includes the authority to:

•Consent to medical treatment
•Refuse or withdraw medical treatment, even if doing so will result in your death
•Admit you to or discharge you from any hospital, institution, home, residential or nursing facility, treatment center or any other health care institution -
•Contract for any type of health care service/facility and bind you to pay for it
•Copy your medical records and consent to their disclosure

The agent can also be given the authority to make certain decisions after your death, on such things as making an anatomical gift, autopsies and the disposition of your remains.

How Does the Agent Decide What to Do?

The Power of Attorney document usually includes a section in which you state your wishes about whether you would want to receive life support and when you would want life support stopped. Your agent should follow what the document says. For health care decisions other than life support issues, your agent should decide what to do based on what you have previously said, or on what he or she thinks you would want done under the circumstances. If the agent has no guidance as to what to do to effect your wishes, the agent should take whatever action is in your “best interest.”

Limits on What the Agent Can Do

As long as you are able to make decisions and express your wishes, you, alone, have the authority to control your affairs. Your agent does not have the right to override your decisions. Also, you can have the Power of Attorney document drafted in a way that leaves out certain powers or limits them in some way.

Examples:

•You can provide instructions in the POA regarding when life-sustaining measures should be withheld;
•You can provide a direction to continue food and fluids or life-sustaining treatment in all events;
•You can provide instructions to refuse specific types of treatment that are inconsistent with your religious beliefs or unacceptable to you for any other reason, such as blood transfusion, electro-convulsive therapy, amputation, psycho-surgery, etc.

What Your Agent is and is Not Required to Do

The agent is not legally required to exercise the powers that you give him or her in the POA or to assume responsibility for your affairs. This is true regardless of your physical or mental condition. The agent you appoint can decline to act if he or she becomes ill or decides for any other reason not to handle your affairs. Whenever the power is used, however, the agent is always required to use due care to act for your benefit according to the terms of the POA.

Having More Than One Agent

You can name more than one agent. However, only one person can be your agent at one time. If you name more than one agent, the power to act on your behalf will pass to the second agent only if the previous agent cannot or will not act on your behalf.

It is recommended that you sign this document in front of a notary public and witnesses.

How Long Does the Power of Attorney Last?

Generally, a Power of Attorney will remain in effect until your death, unless you state otherwise in the document. You have the right to end the POA at any time, regardless of your physical or mental condition. This can be done by destroying the document or by other means, but it is best to sign a formal written revocation.

You also have the right to change the POA at any time, in order to change your agents, add additional agents or to change other terms of the POA. Any changes must be made in writing, and signed and dated by you or by someone acting at your direction. To terminate or make changes to your POA, you should at least have some minimal understanding of what you are doing.

The Duties of Health Care Providers

When a health care provider is given a copy of the POA, the provider is required to make it a part of your medical records. Likewise, the provider must note in your records, whenever informed, that the agent has been changed or terminated.

Whenever a provider believes you lack the capacity to consent to necessary health care, the provider is legally required to consult with any known agent.

The doctor or other health care provider is required to comply with any power exercised by the agent in accordance with a POA. If the provider is unwilling to comply with the agent’s health care decision, the agent must arrange a transfer to another provider.

Who Should Have a Copy of Your Power of Attorney for Health Care?

It is important that your doctors have a copy of these documents. If you regularly use a certain hospital, you should give them a copy as well. You should give a copy to the people named as your agents and any other close family members. It is a good idea to keep a list of the people who have a copy. This way, if you make any changes in the future, you will be sure that they are notified.

Published by: Illinois Legal Aid