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Many Americans took a good step for themselves and their loved ones after getting shocked by learning about treatments, like prolonged machine ventilation, that coronavirus patients may undergo. Not for me, the healthy may have decided. They committed to determining end-of-life wishes, committing these to “advance directives” or POLST (portable orders for life-sustaining treatment) forms.
That may just the start of what people need to do with these formal documents, now easily found online, reported Paula Span, the New York Times’ “New Old Age” columnist. They need to do more. (Hint: Some of this even may be covered under older adults’ health insurance, especially Medicare).
They need to ensure that their doctors and their lawyers, too, support their recording of their end-of-life plans. These must be as clear, specific, and concise as possible, so there can be no mistaking what patients want with vague discussions, such as avoiding “heroic” or “unusual” interventions. They need loved ones to know where they may be stored, especially knowing how to locate them and give them to health workers, including first responders.
