Health Care Advance Directives, Living Will, Designation Of Health Care Surrogate Template, Uniform Donor Form

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Health Care Advance Directives
The Patient’s Right to Decide
Every competent adult has the right to make decisions concerning his or her own health, including the
right to choose or refuse medical treatment.
When a person becomes unable to make decisions due to a physical or mental change, such as being in a
coma or developing dementia (like Alzheimer’s disease), they are considered incapacitated. To make
sure that an incapacitated person’s decisions about health care will still be respected, the Florida
legislature enacted legislation pertaining to health care advance directives (Chapter 765, Florida Statutes).
The law recognizes the right of a competent adult to make an advance directive instructing his or her
physician to provide, withhold, or withdraw life-prolonging procedures; to designate another individual to
make treatment decisions if the person becomes unable to make his or her own decisions; and/or to
indicate the desire to make an anatomical donation after death.
By law hospitals, nursing homes, home health agencies, hospices, and health maintenance organizations
(HMOs) are required to provide their patients with written information, such as this pamphlet, concerning
health care advance directives. The state rules that require this include 58A-2.0232, 59A-3.254, 59A-
4.106, 59A-8.0245, and 59A-12.013, Florida Administrative Code.
Questions About Health Care Advance Directives
What is an advance directive?
It is a written or oral statement about how you want medical decisions made should you not be able to
make them yourself and/or it can express your wish to make an anatomical donation after death. Some
people make advance directives when they are diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. Others put their
wishes into writing while they are healthy, often as part of their estate planning.
Three types of advance directives are:
A Living Will
A Health Care Surrogate Designation
An Anatomical Donation
You might choose to complete one, two, or all three of these forms. This pamphlet provides information
to help you decide what will best serve your needs.
What is a living will?
It is a written or oral statement of the kind of medical care you want or do not want if you become unable
to make your own decisions. It is called a living will because it takes effect while you are still living.
You may wish to speak to your health care provider or attorney to be certain you have completed the
living will in a way that your wishes will be understood.

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