ABSTRACT
MEDICAL DECISION MAKING ■ To consent to a proposed course of care, a patient must be able
to demonstrate understanding of the risks, benefits, and alternatives of the plan and to reasonably evaluate this information and communicate his or her decision. A health proxy is someone appointed by a patient to make health care decisions when the patient is no longer able to do so. The most useful advance directives designate a health proxy who knows the patient well and has talked to the patient about his or her
medical interventions may unnecessarily constrain care, and vague statements (“no heroic measures”) may be difficult to interpret when tough decisions need to be made. Find out what the laws are in your state for surrogate decision making when a patient does not have advance directives appointing a health proxy.
