How Quickly Do Doctors Learn About Advance Directives in North Palm Beach?
Advance directives are extremely important tools for estate planning in North Palm Beach. These relatively simple documents help outline your wishes and preferences for all future medical treatments, and they can provide significant peace of mind. However, these documents are only effective if the medical providers involved are aware of them. How do you ensure that these documents will fall into the right hands before your doctors provide treatment? How quickly will doctors find out about advance directives? These are questions that an experienced lawyer may be able to answer.
Your Advance Directives Can Become Part of Your Medical Record
If you create an advance directive, you can include it in your overall medical record. With this approach, your advance directive will follow you everywhere you go. Even if you share this document with one hospital, staff at the next hospital will likely need to be made aware of the advance directive.
That being said, there may not be time to review a patient’s medical record before providing treatment. This is particularly true in emergencies, where every second counts. For example, a first responder might not be aware of your medical record or advance directive after finding you unconscious at the scene of a car crash. This could result in you receiving treatment that you do not want, including blood transfusions or resuscitation.
How Do You Make Sure Your Medical Providers Know About Your Advance Directive?
If you’re worried about your medical providers being unaware of your advance directive, the obvious step is to tell all of your doctors about the document. Even though the document might be attached to your medical record, it still helps to remind healthcare providers of its existence. If you start seeing a new doctor or specialist, be sure to bring it up during the initial consultation.
You should also know that the specific wording of your advance directive could cause issues. If this document contains vague, confusing, or unclear details, the doctor might not know how to proceed. If the document is completely incomprehensible, the doctor might simply discard it and proceed with their own choice of treatment.
As a result, it makes sense to draft your advance directive with help from an experienced estate planning lawyer in North Palm Beach. These legal professionals can ensure your wishes are expressed in a clear, concise manner with little chance of misunderstanding.
You might also want to discuss your advance directive with your family. With this approach, your family members can remind doctors about the document if you ever become incapacitated.
Can an Estate Planning Lawyer in North Palm Beach Help Me?
An estate planning lawyer in North Palm Beach may be able to address any concerns you might have about your advance directives. Although it is true that doctors might overlook these documents before providing treatment, there are steps you can take to avoid this situation. Discuss this subject in more detail with Kitroser Lewis & Mighdoll today.
Sources:
nchmd.org/patients-and-visitors/advance-directive/
quality.healthfinder.fl.gov/report-guides/advance-directives
