Advance healthcare directive
Advance healthcare directive – making your own decisions when you can no longer do so yourself
An advance healthcare directive is an important document that allows you to regulate medical decisions in the event that you are no longer able to consent – for example, due to illness, accident, or age-related limitations. It allows you to specify in advance which medical measures should be taken or withheld in certain situations.
What does an advance healthcare directive regulate?
With an advance healthcare directive, you can specify, among other things:
- whether life-sustaining measures such as artificial nutrition or ventilation should be carried out,
- how to decide in situations without prospect of healing or awareness
- whether pain and palliative care takes priority,
- what your wishes are regarding end-of-life care and emotional support.
The directive is addressed to treating physicians and nursing staff and gives them legally binding instructions – provided it is clearly formulated and applicable to the respective situation.
Why is an advance healthcare directive so important?
Many people do not want to be kept alive "at all costs" if there is no prospect of improvement. With an advance healthcare directive, you prevent strangers – or a court – from having to decide on your medical care. At the same time, you relieve your loved ones of the burden of making difficult decisions while in a highly emotional state.
Form and validity
An advance healthcare directive must:
- in written formpresent (not just orally),
- from youSigned by handbe,
- clear and specificIt should be formulated (no vague statements such as "no life-prolonging measures" alone).
It is advisable to review the directive regularly and amend it if necessary. A date and a renewed signature help to confirm its validity.
Living will, power of attorney and advance healthcare directive
An advance healthcare directive is often part of a comprehensive advance care planning package. The following are also advisable:
- onePower of attorney, with which you authorize a trusted person to make medical decisions on your behalf;
- oneAdvance directive, which allows you to specify whom the court should appoint in guardianship cases – and whom it should not.
Storage and information
Keep your advance healthcare directive in an easily accessible place, ideally together with other advance care planning documents. Inform your relatives, your family doctor, or designated representative about it. Registration with theFederal Chamber of NotariesThis is possible for powers of attorney, but not mandatory for advance healthcare directives.
We will be happy to advise you.
We would be happy to inform you about creating, securely storing, and effectively combining your advance healthcare directive with other advance care planning documents. Upon request, we can connect you with trusted contacts – such as notaries, doctors, or specialist lawyers – to ensure your advance healthcare directive is legally sound.
