Or you may create two separate documents, a directive explaining the treatment you wish to receive and a durable power of attorney appointing someone to oversee your directive. If you do not know anyone you trust to name as your healthcare proxy, it is still important to complete and finalize a healthcare directive recording your wishes. That way, your doctors will still be obligated to give you the medical care you want. If you have not completed either a formal document such as a healthcare directive to express your wishes, or a durable power of attorney to appoint someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf, the doctors who attend you will use their own discretion in deciding what kind of medical care you will receive. Friends and unmarried partners, although they may be most familiar with your wishes for your medical treatment, are rarely consulted, or are purposefully left out of the decision-making process.
Problems arise where partners and family members disagree about what treatment is proper.
In the most complicated scenarios, these battles over medical care wind up in court, where a judge, who usually has little medical knowledge and no familiarity with you, is called upon to decide the future of your treatment. In most instances, you can ensure that your directive becomes part of your medical record when you are admitted to a hospital or other care facility. But to ensure that your wishes will be followed if your need for care arises unexpectedly or while you are out of your home state or country, it is best to give copies of your completed documents to several people, including your regular physician, your healthcare proxy and another trusted friend. While your proxy need not agree with your wishes for your medical care, you should believe that he or she respects your right to get the kind of medical care you want. The person you appoint to oversee your healthcare wishes could be a spouse or partner, relative or close friend.