Advance Medical Directive

An Advance Medical Directive (AMD) empowers you to make choices in advance about medical treatment in the event that sometime in the future you will be unable to communicate or make decisions.
Writing a will is a common practice and most of us command our possessions to our dear ones from a young age. But only few leave advance directives for situations where they are no longer able to make decisions for themselves. This is in part due to the emotional baggage that accompanies the topic. 
To facilitate the process, Shaare Zedek Medical Center's Social Services created a special kit with instructions and a "Power of Attorney for Medical Treatment" form. 
"We see many cases where a legal guardian needs to be appointed for patients whose medical state prevents them from making informed decisions about their medical care – prolonging life, resuscitation, and so on", explains Amalia Oren, Director of Social Services at Shaare Zedek. "In such cases family members have to appeal to the court to be granted power of attorney. To spare them this stressful and emotionally fraught process, and the need to deal with complicated and sometimes critical decisions, we encourage the public to sign a power of attorney in advance." 
The law stipulates that the patient must give informed consent for any medical procedure. The law also enables a patient to appoint a representative is authorized to give consent in his/her place.
Such an appointment is done by a special power-of-attorney that relates to future care - whether planned or emergency - when the patient is unable to express his/her opinion about the offered treatment. A power-of-attorney allows for the appointment of a trusted person while the subject is still of sound mind and able to give advance instructions about medical care and quality of life. 
Shaare Zedek's social workers are available to assist any patient who wishes to sign this document, offering explanations and helping to fill in the form when needed. "We suggest starting the conversation from the easier issues," explains Ms. Oren. "First discuss issues such as consent in case of surgery or treatment, and play out a simulation that examines questions such as, 'What if I am injured in a car accident and need emergency surgery?'. After that you can move on to more complex issues such as prolonging life, artificial feeding, and resuscitation if the patient reaches a terminal state and becomes dependent on others. We recommend that every adult sign a power-of-attorney to guarantee that his/her wishes are fulfilled to the maximum while sparing his/her loved ones the need to make hard choices."