Advance care planning

You know the kinds of foods you like, so when you go to a restaurant, you can usually make your choices without much difficulty. However, when it comes to making choices related to future health care, it can be more challenging. You may not be sick now or even want to think or talk about what you’d want if you do get sick and are unable to make decisions. But, just like it’s helpful to know what’s on the menu, there are benefits to becoming informed and thinking in advance about your future health care.

What is advance care planning?

Advance care planning is the process of clarifying your values and your preferences for future health care. It also means identifying who you would like to speak for you if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. This person is your “health care agent.” An advance directive is the legal document that you should use to tell others what your preferences are and who you have chosen to be your health care agent.

The advance directive

In the future, something may happen and you won’t be able to make decisions for yourself. Maybe you’re unconscious or too ill. Your health care team will use your advance directive to contact your health care agent. Together, they’ll look to your preferences on the advance directive as a guide to decisions about your care. Have you thought about what is important to you? Or what kind of medical care or mental health care you might want in the future? Have you thought about who you would want to be your health care agent? Are you ready to make your choices? If so, it’s time for you to complete your directive.

Facing a serious illness now?

If you are facing a serious illness right now, you may want to choose from a different menu – one that addresses your current health care goals. Talk with your health care team about what is important to you now. Your doctors can help you decide which treatments and services would best help you reach your current health care goals. Based on this conversation, they can write medical orders to ensure your treatment plan is based on your goals.

Need more time to read the menu?

There are many advance care planning resources for Veterans and their loved ones. VA’s website for older Veterans, www.va.gov/Geriatrics, has an entire section on Advance Care Planning with links to the VA advance directive form. VA also offers podcasts on advance care planning, choosing a health care agent, how to be a health care agent and setting health care goals. Sharing information about advance directives, choosing a health care agent and how to have a conversation about advance care planning with your loved ones is of value to EVERYONE, Veterans and civilians, regardless of age or health status.

VA doctors can help you decide the treatments to help you reach your health care goals.

If you want help considering what matters to you, take a look at this Values Worksheet. For more information, talk with your VA social worker. If you are facing a serious illness and want more information, you can review Setting Health Care Goals: A Guide for People with Health Problems.

Make your choices now!

Make your choices now. Your preferences and priorities may change over time or as your health status changes. It’s okay to change your mind and make different decisions. You can complete a new advance directive whenever you want. Just let us know. We are here to serve you.

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The comments section is for opinions and feedback on this particular article; this is not a customer support channel. If you are looking for assistance, please visit Ask VA or call 1-800-698-2411. Please, never put personally identifiable information (SSAN, address, phone number, etc.) or protected health information into the form — it will be deleted for your protection.

4 Comments

  1. Lucille M. Espey-Francis October 29, 2016 at 20:46

    The living will should require a treating physician and another physician to concur. Just saying my opinion.

  2. Rose C. Powell October 29, 2016 at 16:41

    My husband has Alzheimer’s and is being taken care of at James A. Haley Hospital. I would like to have a tour of the facility where dementia patients live, for future use. Would it be possible to do that? Joe goes to day care most Monday’s and Friday’s. That is when I am free to visit the facility. Thank you for any information you can give me.

  3. April Bresgal October 28, 2016 at 18:18

    “Setting Health Care Goals: A Guide for People with Health Problems” is a dead link.

  4. Victor C. Bond October 28, 2016 at 15:26

    Thank you so very much for this info relative to Advanced Care. It is appreciated.

Comments are closed.

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