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If you want to consider appointing a Medical Treatment Decision Maker with a Health Care Directive, Andrew can advise on matters to consider, answer questions and prepare documents to give you peace of mind.
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Appointment of Medical Treatment Decision Maker and Health Care Directives
A Medical Treatment Decision Maker Authority and Health Care Directive are important documents that let you choose a trusted person to make health decisions for you if you become sick or injured and lose the ability to decide for yourself.
About Medical Treatment Decision Makers and Health Care Directives
If you have a medical condition or life-threatening illness that affects your ability to retain new information and make decisions, appointing someone to be your medical treatment decision maker is an essential document to have in place.
It matters because it ensures you get the right care when you cannot speak for yourself.
Further, a Health Care Directive enables you to record your values, preferences and instructions so that your Medical Treatment Decision Maker and the rest of your family and friends are clear about your wishes.
A Medical Treatment Decision Maker is then legally bound to act in a way that accords with those preferences, values and beliefs in order to make decisions they believe you would have made, were you able to.
Medical Treatment Decision Maker and Health Care Directives- Common Questions
You must appoint an adult person. You may decide to appoint a family member, close relative of friend. It should be someone you trust and who is willing to accept the responsibilities of the role.
Only one person can act in the role at any time. If you want to appoint more than one person to act, the decision maker is the first person listed who is available, willing and able to make the medical decision at the relevant time.
If you have capacity and you decide that one or more of the people you have appointed is no longer appropriate, you can revoke the appointment by completing a revocation document.
Alternatively, a subsequent Medical Treatment Decision Maker Authority as a later document will operate to revoke the earlier one.
Yes, this can be done by making a Health Care Directive where you set out your binding instructions or preferences and values regarding your medical treatment.
It only operates if you lose capacity to give instructions and make medical decisions.
The Medical Treatment Decision Maker must make medical treatment decisions that they believe you would have made if you had decision making capacity. This includes consenting to treatment or refusing treatment. In making decisions, your Medical Treatment Decision Maker must consider any valid and relevant Health Care Directive values and preferences you have made.
Yes. The Medical Treatment Decision Maker cannot make decisions regarding voluntary assisted dying or about palliative care save with palliative care they can advocate for your preferences and values to be taken into account.
An application to the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) can be made for the appointment of a Guardian with the power to make medical decisions for you.
If no VCAT Guardian appointment, your Medical Treatment Decision Maker will be the first of the following: spouse or domestic partner, primary carer, oldest available adult child, oldest parent and oldest sibling.
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Speak directly with Andrew O'Bryan about appointing a Medical Treatment Decision Maker and preparing a Health Care Directive.