Also, members of the hospital's bioethics committee will be encouraged to speak to civic and religious groups. Even though hospitals and other health providers have been required since 1990 to inform patients of such tools as living wills and a durable power of attorney, the message just isn't getting out, Livengood said. Hendrick, like most hospitals, issues new patients a booklet which explains their rights and includes forms for a living will, durable power of attorney, and a uniform donor card. Neither the living will nor the durable power of attorney requires preparation by a lawyer. The forms only need the signatures of two witnesses.
Most professionals urge use of both.
Living wills only become effective when two physicians certify that the patient's illness or injury is terminal and that life-sustaining procedures would only serve to artificially prolong the moment of death. A durable power of attorney gives the agent specified by the patient the authority to make all health care decisions when the patient is no longer capable of doing so, whether or not the patient has been deemed terminal. Even so, that may not be the end of the discussion. At Hendrick, the 15-member committee meets monthly and is made up of physicians, nurses, ministers, case management workers, and a risk management specialist. She estimated that the committee, which serves a 350-bed hospital, hears such cases only once or twice a year.