What is a health care proxy?
Under New York’s health care proxy law, any competent person can authorize another person, usually a family member, to make health care decisions, if the patient becomes unable to do so. This is done by completing the standard health care proxy form, noting the person you are designating to make decisions, noting any specific decision that you want the person you are designating to make, and by signing the document in front of two witnesses.
A Health Care Proxy is a document which allows you, as a competent adult, to appoint another person as “agent” or “attorney in fact” to make decisions for you regarding your health care in the event you lose your decision-making capacity or the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequence of health care decisions. The Proxy can be general and apply to all medical decisions, or it can impose limitations and spell out specific instructions. Some states may limit its applicability in certain situations.
