How Do You Prepare A Health Care Proxy?
A health care proxy is often confused with a similar legal document, the living will. A living will directs family and physicians to provide or withhold life support once the patient is in a vegetative state. The health care proxy designates another person–usually a spouse, significant other or children–to make decisions about the patient’s health care as if the patient were making the choices. Step 1 Decide who you trust to make health care decisions for you, if you should become unable to make those decisions for yourself. This must be someone you have asked to fill this role and is of legal capacity to decide to be a proxy. Talk about your wishes and communicate a clear understanding of how you wish your proxy to help you. Step 2 Make a decision about donating your organs after you pass away. Some states use the health care proxy form to instruct medical facilities about your wishes to donate organs or not. Step 3 Choose an alternative health care proxy if you wish to have a secon
