Advance Directives, or Procrastination?
Advance directive, or procrastination? Some choice. But that’s what it comes down to. Most people will put off these kinds of decisions because they don’t know how, or don’t have time, or they’ll get to it later…if they think about it at all. There was a brief moment a few years ago, when Terri Schiavo [...]
What is POLST?
POLST stands for Physician’s Order for Life Sustaining Treatment. A POLST Paradigm form is a brightly colored, medical order form, used to write orders indicating life-sustaining treatment wishes for seriously ill patients. It addresses two needs. It turns treatment wishes of an individual (something you might find on an advanced directive) into actionable medical orders [...]
‘Five Wishes’ Combines Durable Power of Attorney and Living Will
Many people find it difficult to discuss plans for care at the end of life and thus put off the decisions until it’s too late. While for most, this is something that they think about in old age, adults of every age should consider putting their wishes on paper. The Terri Schiavo case brought this [...]