Planning for future health care decisions

• A health care proxy (also called a durable power of attorney). This document names a specific person to make health care decisions for someone who isn’t able to make decisions for him or herself. 

• A living will. Living wills give directions about the kind of health care a person wants, and which medical treatments a person wants if his or her life were threatened, including things like: – Dialysis and breathing machines – Resuscitation if the person’s breathing or heart stops – Tube feeding 

• After-death wishes. These documents may include decisions like organ and tissue donation. 

If the person you’re caring for has advance directives, make sure you know where these documents are, and give copies to his or her doctors, nursing home, caregivers, and other health care providers, and anyone named in the advance directives. 

Managing health care 

The person you’re caring for may have health information in lots of places—at home or in doctor or hospital records. You may need to know certain information about his or her health care like the last time he or she had a certain medical procedure. It may seem overwhelming to remember all of these details, and trying to find the information when it’s in lots of places can be hard. 

You may be able to help him or her set up a Personal Health Record (PHR). A PHR is usually an electronic file or record of health information and recent services. With a PHR, a person can keep track of his or her health information, like the date of his or her last physical, major illnesses, operations, allergies, or list of medicines. This information can be stored in one place, and then shared with others, as needed. 

The person whose information is contained in the PHR generally controls how the information is used and who can access it. If you help the person you’re caring for set up a PHR, and he or she gives you access, you’ll have all of their health information in one place. 

Note: To view the person’s Medicare claims, Medicare eligibility, and plan enrollment, visit MyMedicare.gov. If you create a PHR, you can enter the information from MyMedicare.gov into the PHR so it’s easier to view in different ways.