Live in Washington? This article covers the Washington version of this page.
This part of the questionnaire asks about your medical care if you ever cannot speak for yourself. Your answers help your attorney prepare your Advance Directive, the Oregon document that records your health care wishes.
Nothing you enter here is final. It is fine to be unsure, to change your mind later, or to leave parts blank.
Why these questions matter
These questions help your attorney understand how medical decisions should be made if you cannot make them yourself. They show how much guidance, or how much freedom, you want to give the person who decides for you.
Your Health Care Representative
Your Health Care Representative is the person who makes medical decisions for you if you cannot speak for yourself. If your questionnaire includes the Fiduciaries page, you name that person there, under Health Care Representative (Your Advance Directive).
The questions on this page
The page has three kinds of questions.
Health care instructions
You can check any of these instructions to include in your Advance Directive:
- I want my Health Care Representative to have the power to manage my health care generally: Your Health Care Representative can make the health care decisions you would make yourself, such as agreeing to tests or treatment, when you cannot decide for yourself.
- I want my Health Care Representative to be able to make choices about life support for me: Your Health Care Representative can decide whether to start, continue or stop treatment that keeps you alive, such as a breathing machine or tube feeding.
- I want my Health Care Representative to have the power to hire and fire people to help with my medical care: Your Health Care Representative can choose and change the doctors, caregivers and facilities that care for you.
- I want my Health Care Representative to work with my financial agent to pay for my health care: Your Health Care Representative can work with the person named in your financial power of attorney so your care is paid for.
- I prefer that my treatment be kept comfortable and pain free: This tells your care team that keeping you comfortable and free of pain is a priority.
Check any that fit. Leave the rest unchecked, and ask your attorney about any you are unsure of.
Where you would prefer care
If you need long-term or end-of-life care, the page asks where you would prefer that care to take place. The choices are:
- I’d prefer care at home
- I’d prefer care in a hospital or other facility
- I’m unsure, my Health Care Representative can decide
Organ donation
The page asks whether you are, or would like to be, an organ donor. The choices are:
- Yes
- No
- I am not now and I am unsure, so my Health Care Representative can decide
Want to read more?
These articles go deeper. They are optional.
- Choosing the person who decides for you: What to look for in someone who makes medical decisions for you. See this article.
- Health care and end-of-life wishes: Common medical and end-of-life questions, to help you think through your values. See this article.