A legal document specifying your medical treatment preferences if you cannot communicate them.
A healthcare directive (also called an advance directive or living will) is a legal document that communicates your wishes about medical treatment if you become unable to speak for yourself.
It typically addresses:
Life-sustaining treatment: Whether you want mechanical ventilation, feeding tubes, or resuscitation efforts in terminal or irreversible conditions.
Pain management: Your preferences regarding comfort care and palliative measures.
Healthcare proxy: Designation of someone to make medical decisions on your behalf (sometimes a separate document called a healthcare power of attorney).
Without a healthcare directive, families are left guessing — or fighting — about what you would have wanted. It's one of the simplest yet most impactful documents in a comprehensive plan.
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