Is a Medical Power of Attorney Form Necessary?

Accidents happen. For the average American, 40 years old and above, a cardiac arrest or a stroke can happen anytime. At some unfortunate point in your life, anything can happen and it is possible that you may need a legally binding document such as the medical power of attorney form.

A medical power of attorney will give a trusted family member or relative, a close friend or a colleague the authority to decide on a medical issue or health care concern in your behalf should a misfortune befall you, making you incapacitated or unable to make important decisions. Such circumstances may include being in a coma or being mentally ill. The medical power of attorney form is a legally binding document that takes into effect immediately after it has been duly signed, executed and delivered to the individual who has been chosen to be the representative. However, a physician must first certify that the individual has become incapacitated and unable to make sound health care decisions before the designated agent or representative can be called upon to decide on the patient’s behalf.

Under the medical power of attorney form, the representative can be given a wide range of health care and medical issues to decide upon including the release and transfer of confidential medical records. The law however prohibits the representative to consent to certain medical concerns such as abortion, a person’s commitment to a mental institution, psychosurgery and convulsive treatment as well as a denial or neglect of comfort care.

Since your appointed agent will be acting in your behalf when you become in capable of making sensitive health care decisions, it is important to carefully choose your appointed representative. Make sure that it is someone that you trust and someone whom you know can make decisions based on what you may want according to your beliefs, your religion, values, tradition and upbringing. That way you will know that the decisions made will not veer away from what you may decide if you were otherwise able to.

Practically just about anybody whom you trust can be chosen to act as your representative by virtue of the medical power of attorney. However the law disallows your health care provider or your residential care provider from being appointed as your representative. Likewise, any employee of your health care provider or your residential care provider cannot be chosen as your agent unless that person is a relative. Once signed, the document is binding unless otherwise revoked. A revocation occurs once the principal inform his or her healthcare provider of such revocation of the medical power of attorney. Moreover, if the principal has appointed his or her spouse to become the agent or representative, the medical power of attorney is revoked immediately after a divorce.