• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • Bio
  • Practice
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Contact

Law Offices of Deborah G. Matthews

Law Offices


703.548.3699
info@dmatthewslaw.com

National Healthcare Decisions Day: Time to decide about your healthcare

April 15, 2013 by Deborah Matthews

Most of us have strong feelings about the type of health care we want and who should make our medical decisions if we are incapacitated.

To highlight the importance of making decisions about your health care while you have the ability to do so, April 16, 2013, has been designated National Healthcare Decisions Day.

With an advance medical directive, you provide written direction about your healthcare choices and name a designee or agent to speak for you if you cannot. Advance medical directives can include language for a living will and health care power of attorney.

An advance medical directive permits you to describe the care you want and to specify the treatments you wish to receive – and those you don’t. These can include life-prolonging procedures like artificially administered nutrition or hydration, blood transfusions, the use of antibiotics or pain-relieving medication, and mental health treatment.

Advance directives can also state preferences regarding organ donation, medications, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hospital or nursing home facility admission, and even who can visit you.

To prevent conflicts among family or friends about your treatment, you can authorize an agent to make your medical choices. The person you select will have priority over any others, who otherwise could, by law, make healthcare decisions for you.

Your medical directive can contain as much or as little direction as you desire. You can update or revoke it at any time. Photocopies of your medical directive should be given to all of your health care providers and anyone you want to be aware of your healthcare choices.

Virginians can download a advance medical directive form from the Virginia State Bar’s website here. There are new options for mental health treatment, including participation in health care studies that offer the possibility of direct therapeutic benefit. The supplement can be downloaded here.

Marylanders can obtain a form and additional information from here.

For the District of Columbia residents, a power of attorney for healthcare can be found here.

Virginians have a nice option to facilitate access to their advance medical directives at anytime from anywhere. They can file it with the Virginia Advance Medical Directive Registry here. With this free on-line Registry a healthcare provider will be able to see the written direction and the agent named, regardless of where medical care is received. This will prevent delay in providing care until the directive is located.

For more information about advance medical directives, talk to your lawyer and your health care providers.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Healthcare Tagged With: advanced medical directive, April 16 2013, Healthcare, Maryland, medication, National Healthcare Decisions Day, organ donation, therapy, Virginia, Washington D.C.

Primary Sidebar

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn

Location

My office is located on
Tavern Square in
Old Town Alexandria

110 North Royal Street
Suite 575
Alexandria, Virginia 22314
Click for map & directions

Practice Areas

  • Estate Planning
  • Probate
  • Trust and Estate Administration

Recent Articles

  • Confirm Your Retirement Account Beneficiaries
  • REIMBURSEMENTS FOR COVID-RELATED FUNERAL AND BURIAL COSTS
  • REIMBURSEMENT FOR COVID FUNERAL AND BURIAL COSTS
  • Preparing For COVID-19 Checklist
  • Accessing Medical Information and Directives
  • Options for Cremated Remains
  • Home for the holidays, time to have The Talk: get the new year off to a good start
  • Thanksgiving: A Time for Family and For Remembering
  • New Medicare Tool
  • Planning for Retirement: Federal Employees

Categories

Awards and Recognition

  • Exemplary Service Award from Mount Vernon Unitarian Church: for tireless efforts to support refugees around the globe, including the Afghan family that MVUC supports locally, with Co-Chair Roberta Finkelstein.
  • Door Opener Society member, Community Foundation for Northern Virginia, 2021
  • Fellow, Class of 2020, Virginia Law Foundation
  • Leader in the Law, Virginia Lawyers Weekly, 2019
  • Recognition from Delegate Paul Krizek for HB1559, extending renewal period for “Senior IDs
  • Fairfax County Public Schools, thank you for donating 2,000+ masks for vulnerable students- 2020
  • Recognition from Delegate Scott A. Surovell for suggested legislation HB1973 – Clarifying Control of Real Estate Brokerages
  • Fairfax Bar Association, Pro Bono Attorney of the Year 2012
  • American Gar Association GP|Solo, Chairman’s Award, for her leadership of the National Solo and Small Firm Conference, August 2008
  • American Bar Association GP|Solo “Star of the Quarter”
  • Fairfax Bar Association, President’s Award, 2006

Community Events

  • “Simple Estate Planning”, Northern Virginia Pro Bono Law Center CLE – training for lawyer volunteers to assist low income seniors and people with disabilities with estate planning.

Increase Font Size

A Decrease font size. A Reset font size. A Increase font size.

Footer

Deborah G. Matthews
110 North Royal Street, Suite 575
Alexandria, Virginia 22314

SiteLock

703.548.3699
fax: 703 637.1325
info@DMatthewsLaw.com

Copyright © 2023 -Law Office of Deborah G. Matthews. All Rights Reserved. Content Management System Website created by MDT Design LLC.

Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}