Healthcare Power of Attorney in Pinson

Choose for availability as well as trust

A healthcare power of attorney or advance healthcare directive can name an agent and an alternate. The practical question is whether your choices can communicate with the people involved in your care when a decision is needed. A trusted person who is often unavailable may not be the best sole choice; an alternate can provide a backup.

Compare possible agents by asking whether each person would listen to your wishes, handle difficult conversations, and stay reachable. Also consider whether the people you name are likely to agree about what you want. Your agent’s role concerns healthcare decisions; it is not the same as a financial agent, trustee, or executor.

• First choice: who can understand and communicate your preferences?
• Alternate: who could take over if your first choice is unavailable or unable to act?
• Preferences: what guidance would help either person make decisions consistent with your wishes?

Give the agent useful guidance

Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form addresses both an agent or alternate and healthcare preferences. Those are related but distinct decisions: naming a person identifies who may act, while recording preferences gives that person direction. Consider what you would want your agent to know about care that matters to you and what questions you want discussed with your chosen people.

A useful preparation tool is a one-page decision sheet for your planning conversation. List your proposed agent and alternate, how to reach them, the preferences you want to discuss, and any questions you have about how those preferences should be expressed. Use it to organize the conversation; it is not a substitute for completing the appropriate directive.

• Write down your first choice and backup choice.
• Note the healthcare preferences or uncertainties you want to address.
• Record questions about how to communicate the directive to the people involved in your care.

Separate decision authority from information access

A HIPAA authorization and a healthcare appointment serve different purposes. An information-sharing authorization, by itself, does not appoint someone to make healthcare decisions. Conversely, state-law authority to make healthcare decisions can make a person a HIPAA personal representative; a separate HIPAA authorization is not always required for that role.

When reviewing existing paperwork, identify what each document actually does. Do not treat permission to receive medical information as proof of decision-making authority, or assume that every healthcare agent needs a separate authorization. Ask how your directive and any information-sharing instructions should work together.

Prepare for a focused planning conversation

Bring your decision sheet and any existing healthcare directives or information-sharing authorizations you want considered. Be ready to explain who you would choose, who should be the alternate, and where you are uncertain about your preferences. If a person you are considering is difficult to reach or may not be comfortable acting, raise that concern before settling on a choice.

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers healthcare power of attorney planning and related advance healthcare directive and HIPAA authorization services. The firm serves Tennessee and is based in Murfreesboro; Pinson is an unincorporated Census-designated place in Madison County, not a separate city government. Contact the firm to ask about planning your documents for your circumstances.

• Which person is both willing and realistically reachable to serve as agent?
• Who should be named as an alternate, and what should that person know?
• Which existing documents address decision-making, and which address information sharing?