Healthcare Power of Attorney in Dukedom

Choose an agent and an alternate

Start by considering who can understand your preferences, communicate with healthcare providers, and make decisions in a difficult situation. Then consider availability: if your first choice cannot serve, who would you want to act instead? Tennessee’s Advance Directive for Health Care form includes an agent and an alternate, along with healthcare preferences.

Compare your choices by discussing your wishes with each person and asking whether they are willing to take on the role. A relative’s closeness to you is not the only consideration; the person should be prepared to follow your instructions and communicate them clearly.

• Would this person be reachable and able to participate when a decision is needed?
• Can they follow your stated preferences even if they would personally choose differently?
• Who is your next choice if your first choice is unavailable or unable to act?

Separate decision-making authority from information access

A healthcare power of attorney concerns authority to make healthcare decisions within the document’s scope. A HIPAA authorization concerns sharing health information. Under federal guidance, a person with healthcare authority under state law can be a HIPAA personal representative; an information-sharing authorization by itself does not appoint someone to make healthcare decisions.

Treat these as related but distinct planning questions. Review any existing healthcare directive and information-sharing authorization together so the documents reflect who should make decisions and who may receive information. Do not assume that every agent necessarily needs a separate HIPAA authorization.

• Identify the person named to make healthcare decisions and the document that gives that authority.
• Separately identify anyone you want to receive information, and review the authorization that addresses sharing.

Prepare a decision-and-preferences worksheet

Before preparing or revising documents, write down your proposed primary agent, alternate, and the healthcare preferences you want recorded. Add a short list of existing documents—such as an advance directive or HIPAA authorization—and note who has a copy. This makes it easier to spot a mismatch, such as a named agent who differs from the person you expect to communicate with providers.

Use the worksheet to record questions rather than trying to resolve document language on your own. For example, note whether a preference should be expressed as guidance for your agent or whether you want to discuss how it appears in the directive.

• Names and contact details for your proposed agent and alternate.
• A brief summary of care preferences and where those instructions are recorded.
• Existing directives or authorizations, their dates, and who has copies.

Coordinate the documents and make your next step

Tennessee’s health directive form includes signing and copy-sharing instructions. Review the form’s instructions when preparing a document, and consider how the people involved in your care will know where to find the completed directive. The scope, duration, and limits of a power of attorney matter, so do not assume a document grants every possible authority.

Dale Law Group, PLLC offers healthcare power of attorney planning, advance healthcare directives and living wills, and HIPAA authorizations. The firm’s office is in Murfreesboro and serves Tennessee; Dukedom is an unincorporated Census-designated place in Weakley County, not a separate city government. For a planning conversation, bring your worksheet and existing documents and ask how the proposed agent, alternate, preferences, and information-sharing instructions fit together.