Anytime you create a legal document and name someone in it, you want to make sure your choice is thoughtful and not hasty. Naming a health care agent is no different. Some things you may want to consider when naming this agent are:
- Do they share the same religious or spiritual beliefs as you?
- Are they familiar with your medical history?
- Will they have your best interests at heart?
- Do they know what your wishes are and are they comfortable making hard choices if it comes down to it?
- Are you comfortable with his person making potentially life changing decisions for you?
We are going to look at these questions in detail.
Do they share the same religious or spiritual beliefs as you?
This may seem like a silly question, but there are some religions and belief structures that have specific laws and views on medicine and specifically life saving measures. If you belong to a religion that has certain medical stances, you want the person making health care decisions in your wake to be aware of that.
Are they familiar with your medical history?
This again may seem like an obvious or silly question, but it is still an important one. Do they know your allergies? Do they know the medications you take? Are they aware of any past surgeries or treatments you may have had? If your medical professional doesn’t know the answers to these questions, they could look to your agent for the answers.
Will they have your best interests at heart?
Someone who loves and cares about you may not have your best interests at heart. They may act in ways that are selfish or detrimental to what is right for you. This might mean consenting to surgeries that were not wanted or continuing life support measures. They think they are making the right choices but those choices go against your wishes. This goes hand in hand with our next question:
Do they know what your wishes are and are they comfortable making hard choices if it comes down to it?
It is very easy to say yes to this question but much harder to act on it when life support measures are the only thing keeping your loved one alive. Your health care agent needs to understand your feelings about life support: what you want to be done to keep you alive and what you don’t. They also have to be willing to make those decisions, even if other people might not agree with them. It is not an easy undertaking, so it’s important that they realize the tough decisions they may have to face.
Are you comfortable with his person making potentially life changing decisions for you?
As you can see, a health care agent might be faced with difficult decisions and have to make them for you. Is the person you’re appointing someone you’re comfortable with making these decisions? While every decision is not life or death, they will still impact you.