Being a health care agent isn’t a job to be taken lightly. When the time comes for you to step in, your job will include asking questions and getting solid answers, developing and adjusting care plans, selecting care settings, and following through. You will need to adjust as things change. You must be an advocate.
Your duty is to follow the principal’s wishes and instructions as they are known to you. If you don’t know them, you must act in the principal’s best interest, taking into account the principal’s personal values known to you.
In making decisions, be sure to define the goals of care, depending on the circumstances. Based on the goals chosen, different care choices will be appropriate. Goals of care range from returning to good health — to creating a good death. They include curing the illness, stopping or slowing the progress of the illness, maintaining or improving function, prolonging life, avoiding premature death, relieving pain and suffering, staying in control and supporting loved ones.
Sample questions to ask the care professionals:
• If I have questions or problems, with whom should I speak?
• When will you be here next so that I can speak with you face-to-face?
• Have you spoken to the doctor? What did they say? Do you agree?
• Do you expect her to recover?
• What will his recovery or rehabilitation be like?
• If we do [or don’t do] what you propose, what will her life be like?
• What other things could we do to help him?
• Would you be surprised if she died within [time period]?
• Would you be surprised if he was not able to leave the hospital?
• How do we get the best pain and symptom management for her?
• Would hospice make sense for him?
• Can we do what you propose for a time period, on a trial basis?
• How long should we try what you propose before we re-evaluate?
• What will happen if we don’t provide tube feeding?
• Now that we have agreed, how will you document this and communicate it to the rest of the medical team?
Ms. Macdonald’s practice is limited to Estate Planning, Probate and Elder Law. Ms. MacDonald maintains her practice in the Santa Clarita Valley at 27013 Langside Avenue, Suite A in Santa Clarita. For more information she can be reached at 661-251-1300.