Why are advanced healthcare directives important before hospitalization?

Why are advanced healthcare directives important before hospitalization?

Arthur Shorr (Former COO and SVP of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center) gives expert video advice on: What are 'advanced healthcare directives'?; What information should my advanced healthcare directive contain? and more...

Advanced healthcare directives are important to safeguard and ensure that your wishes and your preferences of care are respected, particularly in circumstances where you cannot express them for yourself. That means, most often, in end of life oriented decisions. All healthcare facilities - hospitals, nursing homes - are required to provide you with forms and educate you about healthcare directives, and document that we've actually done that, so that if there is no advanced healthcare directive in your file, there's a notation that the topic was discussed with you and you've elected not to make those decisions or confront the issue at that time. It's really designed to eliminate any uncertainty, any ambiguity, and to guide your family and next of kin on how you wish certain things to occur for yourself.