Advance Directives -- States recognize various forms of "advance directives" that individuals can use to convey their wishes about life support if they become terminally ill or incompetent. These include:
The law applies to all healthcare providers including: hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, health maintenance organizations, and other healthcare facilities that receive money from Medicare and Medicaid programs. The bill also requires healthcare providers to ensure that living wills are "implemented to the maximum extent permissible under state law." Hospitals and other providers must note on medical records whether patients have legal advance directives on treatment. Providers must have procedures to ensure that they comply with a patient's wishes in accordance with state law. The law also requires the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct a nationwide campaign to educate people about their legal right to refuse medical treatment.At present, the law does not require that a patient sign a living will or to name someone whom he/she wishes to act as "surrogate," only that an opportunity to do so be provided. If you are sick or injured, going through the complicated maze of papers required by a nursing home or hospital admissions process, you might sign such a document without realizing it. You need to understand that living wills and other advance directives are intended primarily to limit, rather than to request, medical treatment.
Notice: The information provided is of general nature and is not intended to replace the advice and counsel of an attorney.