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Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Louisiana
A Louisiana Advance Directive for Health Care is a set of instructions about preferred medical care that takes effect when a patient becomes unable to make decisions. In addition to listing preferences for medical care, the form provides individuals with the option of appointing a health care proxy. A health care proxy - otherwise known as a health care agent or surrogate - is a person who has the authority to make health-related decisions on another person's behalf.
Download a pre-made form through the link below or make your own Advance Directive with our form builder.
If an individual has never had an Advance Directive made, any health care decisions may be made for them by a court-appointed guardian (a spouse, an adult child, an adult sibling, an adult relative or a professional). In Louisiana, this document is regulated by Title 40 (Public Health and Safety), RS 40:1151.2 . The declaration may be written, oral or nonverbal and be must be witnessed by two (2) adult witnesses.
There is a difference between this form and a Living Will in Louisiana. A Living Will is a specific type of an Advance Directive for Health Care that becomes effective only in the event of a terminal illness.
What Is a Louisiana Advance Directive?
An Advance Directive is a legal document by which an individual appoints a proxy to make medical decisions for when they are no longer able to and to administer or withhold treatment and procedures based on their previously stated wishes. Advance Directives include two separate forms:
- A Living Will (a written statement listing decisions about life-sustaining procedures in the event of a terminal condition);
- A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care (a document appointing an attorney-in-fact to make medical decisions for the individual).
The attorney-in-fact should meet the following criteria:
- The health care proxy - or agent - must meet the state's legal requirements.
- The individual's doctor or a member of their medical care team may not be selected as a proxy.
- The elected individual should be trusted to be the patient's advocate in any disagreements about their care.
How to Write an Advance Directive in Louisiana?
Creating an Advance Care Directive in Louisiana usually features the following steps:
- Learn the necessary components of the document. Consider including a Living Will to express end-of-life medical preferences. Designate a health care proxy - or agent - using a health care power of attorney.
- Get the required paperwork and begin filling out your form.
- Determine your wishes on CPR, breathing tubes, feeding tubes, surgeries, kidney dialysis, and organ donation.
- Discuss your wishes with your partner, family, friends and health care providers to make sure your plans are known to them ahead of time.
- Hand copies of the certified and signed form to your health care proxy and doctors. Keep the original in an obvious easy-to-find place with your other paperwork and keep more copies handy.
Download Advance Directive for Health Care Form - Louisiana
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