The healthcare power of attorney

Why an agent matters more than a form

No document can anticipate every medical decision. A healthcare power of attorney names a person — your agent — who can respond to the situation actually in front of them, guided by the instructions in your advance directive and by everything they know about you.

Without one, providers fall back on a statutory list of default surrogates, which may not be who you would choose and often produces conflict among family members.

Choosing your agent

• Pick someone reachable, calm under pressure and willing to say no to a doctor when your wishes require it.
• Always name at least one alternate, and a second if you can. Hospitals frequently need the backup.
• Most states bar an owner or employee of the facility treating you from serving unless they are related to you.
• Naming co-agents who must agree is usually a mistake: it stalls decisions in an emergency.

When authority begins, and what it covers

You can make the authority effective immediately, with your own decisions always controlling while you have capacity, or only when a physician documents that you cannot decide. Either way, this document lets you turn individual powers on and off: consenting to or refusing treatment, choosing providers, admission and discharge, access to records, life-sustaining treatment, mental-health treatment, anatomical gifts and funeral arrangements.

Any power you leave off is stated expressly as withheld, so a provider reading the document knows the limit rather than guessing at it. Adding HIPAA access language here lets your agent get records immediately, before your separate HIPAA authorization is produced.