Did you know that without some advance planning, you might not be able to receive information about a loved one’s medical care and status if they’re unable to speak for themselves? While no family wants to wind up in this situation, it can happen easily if your loved one is unconscious, enters a coma, or is otherwise incapacitated and unable to voice their desires regarding medical care.
Furthermore, doctors and medical professionals cannot automatically give healthcare data to anyone who simply asks for it. There are legal guardrails in place, including those under HIPAA about who can be informed about medical treatments for another person.
Planning for incapacity often means discussions around wills and powers of attorney, but these are certainly not the only forms or documents that you’ll want to discuss with your loved ones when creating a comprehensive estate plan. You could be barred from accessing critical medical information or directing decisions around your loved one’s care if they are incapacitated and unable to speak for themselves. If you are not granted these legal powers already, you would need to go to court and petition for guardianship.
A couple of key legal documents make it easier to accomplish what you need to during this critical time when your loved one needs care. These are an advanced health care directive, also known as a living will, a power of attorney and a HIPAA authorization form.
The HIPAA form is a document that authorizes a doctor to keep approved family members up to date about what is happening with a loved one’s medical status. This only takes a couple of minutes to complete and doctor’s offices and hospitals should have a blank one on hand. This simply involves requesting that the hospital give information to people that you name.
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