Advance Care Planning

Advance care planning is the process of talking about and writing down your wishes for medical care if you become unable to speak for yourself.

It is important to be prepared and talk to your loved ones about your wishes. This resource can help: Deciding About Health Care: A Guide for Patients and Families.

Writing down what you want in an advance directive can help make sure your wishes for future medical care are followed. Advance directives include: a Health Care Proxy, a Nonhospital Order Not to Resuscitate, and Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST).

You can always update your advance directive documents if your wishes change. It is a good idea to review your documents from time to time. Make sure to discuss your wishes with your health care agent, your loved ones, and health care providers.

Revised: January 2020

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