Who gets to make my medical decisions? (Part 3)
There’s a way that all of us can ensure that the person that we want to make our medical decisions is able to do so, and that’s by appointing a Medical Power of Attorney (MPOA). Again, all of this is focusing on Texas, so the rules may be different elsewhere.
A MPOA makes medical decisions for us and differs from someone with statutory/financial power of attorney. A MPOA can decide your end-of-life care, surgery, medications and other healthcare treatment options, while the other power of attorney can make financial decisions about your property and money. They are not the same thing!
From my experience, here are some things to consider/remember about the MPOA process.
Make sure to fill out the paperwork accurately and completely. This seems like a no-brainer, but it’ll cause lots of problems if it’s not done correctly.
Make sure the person or persons that are designated know they’re the MPOA!
Give a copy of the MPOA paperwork to the MPOA. You can even have the paperwork filed as part of your record at local hospitals. Often, filing the paperwork at a hospital that’s part of a larger system–in Austin, the big ones are St. David’s and Ascension Seton–will make it to your record for all hospitals within that system. This helps immensely when the hospital is looking for a decision-maker.
Make sure you tell your MPOA what your wishes are! It doesn’t make sense to appoint someone and not let them know what your preferences are for your care. They’re acting in your stead and should be making decisions based on what you want.
Ensure that you either sign the form with a notary and have the form notarized or sign it in front of two competent witnesses. If you’re using two witnesses, pay attention to who cannot be used as a witness (this is on the form)
Keep the original somewhere safe
Finally, if you update the MPOA form, you should let the MPOA know about the changes. This is especially important if you’re changing who is the MPOA–let the people who were on the previous form and new form know what’s changed. At the hospital, if there are multiple MPOA forms, the hospital will honor whichever is the most recently competed
I'm putting the MPOA form below, so you or someone you know can more easily start the process. There’s another way to ensure your wishes are adhered to, and I’ll describe that in another post.
