Advance directives record medical wishes while a person with dementia can still speak for care. A POLST form adds current medical orders once serious illness or frailty makes emergency decisions likely. An advance directive is a legal paper that tells family and doctors what care a person wants if unable to speak. Federal cancer guidance says all adults should complete one while healthy, according to the National Cancer Institute federal cancer guidance.
Medical information disclaimer: This article is for general educational purposes only and does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult a physician or other qualified health professional about symptoms, medications, tests, or treatment decisions.
Table of Contents
- What do the two advance directives do?
- Why must dementia planning happen early?
- Who needs a POLST form?
- How do you keep the papers valid?
What do the two advance directives do?
The two common forms split the job. A living will states treatment wishes. A durable power of attorney for health care names a proxy to decide for the patient.
The proxy speaks only when the patient cannot. The living will guides that proxy and the medical team. Together they prevent guesswork during a crisis.
Why must dementia planning happen early?
Early planning lets the person with dementia participate and express wishes for future care. The Alzheimer's Association defines legal capacity as understanding consequences and making rational decisions.
Its guidance says to complete advance directives as soon as possible after diagnosis while the person still has capacity, using forms recognized in the state of care, according to the Alzheimer's Association end-of-life decisions guidance. Waiting risks losing that voice. Acting early keeps choices with the patient.
Who needs a POLST form?
A POLST form is a portable medical order for people with progressing serious illness or aging-related frailty. It tells providers what to do if the patient becomes unresponsive, and completion is optional, according to National POLST about the POLST form. Healthy adults do not need one.
For them an advance directive is the preferred tool. POLST is for the very sick or very frail. The form records three immediate orders: whether to attempt CPR, whether to provide full, selective or comfort-focused treatment, and what level of medically assisted nutrition to provide. Those orders guide emergency staff at the bedside.
How do you keep the papers valid?
Names, forms and signer rules vary by state, and advance directives may not transfer across states. Families must use the current state program's form and review it when care location changes. Carry the notice, file the copies, and recheck after each move or major change in condition.
- give copies to the health-care proxy, physicians and medical files
- carry a wallet notice that the papers exist
- revisit them regularly or after diagnosis changes
