how to submit healthcare power of attorney paperwork to cleveland clinic

What is a durable medical power of attorney?

Advance Directive forms can be brought to any Cleveland Clinic registration desk or faxed to 216-445-9733 to be placed in your record. The key legal requirements for a valid Health Care Power of Attorney are highlighted above in yellow. For further information, please refer to Advance Directives on the website:

What is a healthcare power of attorney?

This Health Care Power of Attorney is in effect only when I cannot make health care decisions for myself. However, this does not require or imply that a court must declare me incompetent. Definitions. Several legal and medical terms are used in this document. For convenience they are explained below. Agent or attorney-in-fact means the adult I ...

What is medical power of attorney?

Ohio!Health!Care!Power!of!Attorney! ! Page!TwoofTwelve! Guardian!means!the!person!appointed!by!acourtthrough!alegal!procedure!to!make!decisions! …

What is a durable medical power attorney?

Download and complete the Ohio Advance Directive Forms packet that includes the health care power of attorney, living will, donor registry enrollment and instructions. Download Cleveland Clinic’s Advance Directive Informational brochure for more information on stating your wishes regarding medical treatment.

When to Use A Medical Poa

We all hope that we will never need to use a Medical Power of Attorney. But the fact remains we all grow old and life can be unpredictable. It’s no...

Medical Poa vs Living Will

A Medical (Health Care) Power of Attorney allows an individual to give someone else the right to make decisions about their end of life treatment o...

How to Write A Medical Poa

To write a medical power of attorney the principal, or person granting power, will have to elect someone to handle their health care decisions (alo...

How to Sign A Medical Poa

All medical power of attorney forms must be signed in the presence of either witness(es) and/or a notary public. The following States require these...

What is the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization?

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, provides resources to help people make decisions about end-of-life care and services before a crisis. Ohio Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Provides information about end-of-life care.

What is a surrogate decision maker?

Surrogate decision-maker ensures care follows patients' wishes. Only about one-third of American adults have an advance directives (AD), which are helpful if they become seriously ill or unable to make healthcare decisions.

What happens when family members do not know end of life wishes?

When family members do not know patients’ end-of-life wishes, they can become unduly burdened by stress and guilt. Dr. Perez Protto recalls that when her own father became ill with cancer, she, her mother and her siblings struggled over whether or not to send him to the hospital one night. Not longer after, he died in the ICU.

Can doctors talk about dying?

Talking to patients about end-of-life care in general is difficult for physicians, Dr. Perez Protto says. “As physicians, we very rarely talk about death and dying. It is common for physicians to feel death as a failure. We always want to save lives.” Physicians also worry that they don’t have time to undertake such a sensitive conversation or that they will increase their patients anxiety about upcoming treatments/diagnoses.

Who said "I often ask the family members about my patient's wishes"?

“As a critical care doctor, I often ask the family members about my patient’s wishes,” says Dr. Perez Protto. “Most of the time, however, they have not had that conversation.”

What is a living will?

A Living Will spells out the kind of care you want if you cannot speak for yourself and are terminally ill or permanently unconscious, as determined by two physicians. “In the Living Will, the focus is on keeping you comfortable, rather than on using artificial support,” she says.

What is the Conversation Project?

Because it’s hard to start the conversation or to know exactly what to talk about, she recommends The Conversation Project, a national website that makes it easier to talk with loved ones about your wishes at the end of life. “It is also helpful to explore your loved ones’ wishes, ...

A Q&A with a geriatrician

Helping patients with end-of-life planning can have a profound impact on patients’ lives. It can also enhance the doctor-patient relationship. In this Q&A, geriatrician Swarnalatha Meyyazhagan, MD of Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Geriatric Medicine, provides guidance and resources to make that discussion a little easier.

Can you provide doctors a general overview of ADs and how to learn about them and provide patients with information?

Discussion about advance directives can feel difficult for providers, especially if the patient is new to them or right in the middle of a health crisis. But inviting patients to think about them and discussing the importance of setting up ADs before an emergency, makes it more comfortable for both patients and providers in the long run.

When is the best time to discuss ADs?

The best time to discuss advance directives with patients is NOW. As they say in The Conversation project, an initiative from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, “it is always too soon, until it is too late.” I always recommend that patients do their advance directives as soon as possible when they have a chance to talk to their provider.

So, advance directives can be changed after a patient has completed them?

Yes, they can be revisited and reviewed regularly. There are the “Five Ds” to revisit AD according to the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging as follows: Death of a loved one, Divorce, a new Diagnosis, Decline in health, and a new Decade in age.

What resources can you give to patients to get information on advance directives?

There are many online resources for learning about the AD process and free online forms. Here are four of them:

Do you have any final thoughts?

I have many examples in my years of practice where advanced directives would have made a big difference in the quality of care and the patient having the desired end-of-life-experience. Talking about advance directives will actually help to reinforce your doctor-patient relationship.

When does a power of attorney go into effect?

The power of attorney goes into effect after a licensed physician has deemed the principal incapable of making decisions for themselves. It’s recommended for a person that makes a medical power of attorney to also create a living will to write their treatment preferences for an agent to follow.

How to make a health care decision?

Step 1 – Select Your Agent. The Agent that you select will have the responsibility of making your decisions based on your health care situation. Therefore you will want someone that you trust and is aware of your basic medical history (such as heart conditions, medication, allergies, etc.)

What is a successor agent?

Successor (2nd) Agent – Individual selected only if the primary agent is not able to fulfill their duties. Co-agent authority is not usually allowed, must be the decision of 1 person. Compensation – You have the option to set up compensation for the agent selected for lodging, food, and travel costs.

What is a living will?

A living will is a highly recommended option to be attached to any medical power of attorney. In addition to having someone speak on their behalf, a living will outlines a person’s end of life treatment selections.

Can an agent make decisions about your health?

The decisions you give your agent related to your health care is up to you. You can allow your agent to make any type of decision that presents itself or you could limit your agent to only certain types of decision making. The more detailed you are as to what your agent can and cannot do will enhance the medical staff on your health intentions.

Can a notary be a witness?

NO WITNESS can be a person that is related to the principal, agent, or be a beneficiary in the principal’s last will and testament. If a notary is required, the notary may not act as a witness.

When Is The Best Time to Discuss Ads?

See more on consultqd.clevelandclinic.org

So, Advance Directives Can Be Changed After A Patient Has Completed them?

Do You Have Any Final Thoughts?