What is Advance Care Planning?
For the majority of people, being able to make independent decisions regarding their medical care is very important. Advance care planning is a process of planning for future health. It lets individuals be part of their future health decision making, and is about discussing and documenting a person's values and preferences with their doctor and their loved ones. Above all, Advance Care Planning allows your voice to be heard.
Advance Care Planning can be broken down into 3 steps:
Appoint a medical treatment decision maker
A Medical Treatment Decision Maker can make medical decisions on your behalf if you are no longer able to communicate your wishes and decisions. Your Medical Treatment Decision Maker should make the decisions that they think YOU would make, if you were unable to speak for yourself.
Chat and communicate
Although it is important to think about what is important to you, it is also vital to share those thoughts with others, including your medical treatment decision maker, your doctor, and other members of your medical treatment team.
Put it on paper
After discussing what is important to you, these conversations can be documented in a formal manner, by completing an Advance Care Directive (ACD). An ACD is a legal document containing the medical treatments you do and do not want. This document can then be shared with your doctor and loved ones, to ensure that your voice remains heard.
Why is Advance Care Planning important?
There are three main benefits of Advance Care Planning:
1. gives the patient peace of mind
2. reduces stress for those close to the patient who will make medical decisions for them
3. clarifies treatments and identifies the legal decision maker.
What's next?
Visit our website to see more about what we do and how ‘life’s better’ with an Advance Care Plan.
https://www.svhm.org.au/our-services/departments-and-services/a/advance-care-planning
Or contact us. Phone: (03) 9231 1938 or email: SVHM.eolc@SVHA.org.au
