Advance Care Planning

You can plan for your future at any point during your life to ensure that your personal values and wishes are understood and documented in the case that you’re unable to speak for yourself due to a medical crisis. At Mountain Medical Arts, PLLC in Burnsville, North Carolina, the team of compassionate medical experts can help clarify your wishes to give you and your family peace of mind. They also offer education and advice to help you approach your older years with grace. Call Mountain Medical Arts or schedule a consultation online today to learn more.

What is advance care planning?

Advance care planning is the process of planning for your care in case of a medical crisis. Although many people use advance care planning to prepare for getting older, you can talk to your doctor and family about your wishes at any time.

Planning for your future health care now means that you can make your wishes clear about the type of medical care you’d want if you weren’t able to speak for yourself and don’t want your family or doctors to make uninformed decisions on your behalf.

As part of your advance care planning, you create an advance care directive which outlines your values and desires for end-of-life care or what you want in the case of a medical crisis or emergency. This document isn’t set in stone and you can adjust it if your situation changes.

What do I need to consider for advance care planning?

Advance care planning is highly personal, and your directives are unique to your views and wishes. However, in general, some of the things you need to consider include:

• When to use cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)
• Ventilator use
• Artificial nutrition like tube feeding or intravenous (IV) fluids
• Comfort care such as hospice and palliative care

You should also talk to your doctor and family about what is critical to your quality of life and what percentage of risk is acceptable for you to maintain an acceptable quality of life.

For example, how important is unassisted mobility to your well-being? If you were to have a crisis and treatment could save your life but you would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of your life, is that acceptable? What if you had to spend the rest of your life in a nursing home having round-the-clock care?

These aren’t easy topics to consider or talk to your family about, but planning for the future now, no matter how difficult it is, can help you have the care you want.

Who is responsible for carrying out my advance care directive?

We have access to forms that can simplify the process of making a legal document.  You can complete the forms in the office or at home and simply take to a notary just steps away from the office.  In most cases there is no need for a lawyer.

If you have questions or concerns about advance care planning, call Mountain Medical Arts or schedule an appointment online today.