Healthcare Power of Attorney in Savannah

Choose for availability as well as trust

Start by identifying the person you would want to make healthcare decisions if you could not communicate. Then consider whether that person is likely to be reachable when needed and willing to take on the role. A trusted person who is often unavailable may not be the only choice to consider.

Compare naming an alternate with relying on a single agent. An alternate can provide another option if your first choice cannot serve; naming one also means deciding who that person should be and how your choices fit together. The Tennessee Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses an agent or alternate as well as healthcare preferences.

Separate decision-making authority from information access

A healthcare power of attorney addresses authority to act on your behalf, subject to the document’s scope and limits. A HIPAA authorization addresses sharing health information. A separate information-sharing authorization alone does not appoint someone to make healthcare decisions.

State-law authority can make someone a HIPAA personal representative. That does not mean every healthcare agent always needs a separate HIPAA authorization. Review what you already have before adding another document, and make sure the documents are meant to serve the roles you intend.

Make a one-page planning map

Before preparing or reviewing documents, write down your choices and questions in a short planning map. This helps distinguish your preferred decision-maker from people who should receive information or carry out other responsibilities.

• Preferred healthcare agent and why you chose them; alternate choice and when you would want that person considered.
• Healthcare preferences you want to discuss or record, including any existing advance directive or living will.
• Existing HIPAA authorization or other information-sharing instructions, and whom each identifies.
• Related roles, such as a financial power-of-attorney agent, trustee, or guardian or conservator, kept separate from healthcare authority.
• Questions about how the documents should work together and how copies should be shared.

Coordinate existing instructions and records

Gather any current advance directive, healthcare power of attorney, living will, and HIPAA authorization before revising or creating documents. The Tennessee form includes document-signing and copy-sharing instructions; review the form itself for those directions rather than relying on an assumption that one document or copy arrangement covers everything.

If a person may be unable to make or communicate decisions and no suitable plan is in place, ask what options may apply to the circumstances. A court-appointed guardian or conservator is a distinct role from an agent named in a power of attorney; these authorities should not be treated as interchangeable.

Prepare for a focused conversation

Bring the planning map and the documents you located. Useful questions include: Who should be the primary agent and alternate? What preferences should the directive express? Do existing documents already address information access? What copies should be shared, and with whom? How should this plan fit alongside financial or other planning documents?

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers healthcare powers of attorney, advance healthcare directives and living wills, and HIPAA authorizations. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro and it serves Tennessee; Savannah is a Hardin County municipality. Contact the firm to discuss your planning needs.