What are Advance Directives?
Advance directives are documents that outline what healthcare and treatment decisions should be made if you’re unable to communicate these wishes. They’re intended to let your doctors, family, friends and caregivers know your healthcare preferences, including the types of treatment you do or don’t want at the end of your life, your desire for diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation, organ donation and more.
An advance directive document is drafted according to state law. Several forms listed as advance directives in most states include:
Living Will
Outlines in writing your wishes regarding medical treatment in the event you’re not able to communicate this directly with your healthcare providers.
Health Care Power of Attorney
Lets you choose another person, called an “agent,” to make medical decisions if you can no longer make those decisions for yourself.
Mental Health Care Power of Attorney
Allows and directs your chosen agent to make decisions for you regarding behavioral health placement and treatment if you no longer have capacity to do so yourself.
Pre-hospital Medical Care Directive (Do Not Resuscitate/DNR)
A document signed by you and a licensed healthcare professional that informs emergency personnel not to use means to resuscitate you.
National Healthcare Decisions Day
Join us for National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) on April 16.
Since 2008, NHDD has highlighted the importance of advance directives and proactive end-of-life care planning. This day encourages everyone to communicate and document their healthcare preferences.
Why Register Your Directives:
- Honor Your Wishes: Clearly outline your medical preferences.
- Ease the Stress on Loved Ones: Provide clarity and reduce uncertainty for your loved ones.
- Enhance Your Care: Ensure a smoother, more compassionate healthcare experience.
Contexture proudly supports NHDD by partnering with community organizations to promote the importance of sharing and honoring end-of-life care decisions. Take this opportunity to empower yourself and your loved ones by making your healthcare wishes known.
In Arizona, Contexture operates the Healthcare Directives Registry. Through AzHDR.org, you’ll find all of the resources you need to make informed choices and secure your future Arizona Healthcare decisions.
HIE & Advance Directives
HIEs have the ability to help honor end-of-life healthcare wishes by providing seamless access to advance directives (documents that outline an individual’s healthcare preferences) across the continuum of care. Contexture is leading the charge to provide a model where HIEs provide a safe
place to store and make accessible advance directive documents so end-of-life care will be guided by the person’s wishes.
Registering advance directives with an HIE-developed registry offers easy access to participating healthcare providers – ensuring wishes
registered are wishes honored.
Working together as a community, HIEs can help ensure that no matter where or when someone faces the moment they can’t communicate,
their advance directives are registered, accessible and honored.
Take Action
Importance Notice: All email correspondence with the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR) will be sent and received from a new email address: azhdr@contexture.org.
Please ensure that the azhdr@contexutre.org email address is added to your safe sender list to avoid any disruptions in our communication.
