The Georgia Advance Health Care Directive form allows terminally ill patients who cannot express their will due to an illness or age to guide doctors and family members on what to do during the patient’s unconsciousness. The document is described in the Georgia Advance Directive for Healthcare.
The form consists of three parts. The first one expresses the patient’s will regarding the health treatment prescriptions they give the allowance to. While the second part is about the decisions on the continuation of life-support, the third part assigns the patient’s legal guardian.
Guidelines and Laws
The Advance Directive must be filled out by a person in clear mind, and only if the person is past the age of 18. The person must sign the document themselves, except when they cannot do so. In these cases, another person is assigned by the creator of the Directive to sign the papers.
The process of signing requires two witnesses, who are not allowed to see how the directing person signs the document and how the other witness signs it. Both witnesses must be adults (at least 18 years old)
Certain people cannot be the witnesses, or they could be only one of the witnesses:
- health care workers
- people that can possibly inherit something from the person
- health care agents
The Georgia Advance Health Care Directive form should be received by everyone who might need directions on the caretaking of the patient. At least one copy should be left at the patient’s home to be present at demand.
How to Fill Out a Georgia Advance Directive
You can find all the instructions on how to fill out the Georgia Advance Health Care Directive as per the Division of Aging Services of the Department of Human Services in the official form.
1. Personal Details
First, the full name and date of birth are filled out by the patient (or by another person directed to do so). Next, the three parts of the documents are described: Health Care Agent, Treatment Preferences, and Guardianship. Any part can be filled in without any obligation to complete all the parts. The fourth part is Effectiveness and Signatures, and it is obligatory, as, without the fulfillment of this part, the whole document would be invalid.
2. Care Agent
The first part is dedicated to Health Care Agent assignment. All the personal information of the person that the declarer wishes to have as a healthcare agent is filled out. Optionally, another agent can be added for emergencies when the first one cannot perform their duties. Then the agent’s rights are described, and guidance for particular situations is described.
This section also includes instructions for a health care agent that should be used in case of a patient’s death and that declare the patient’s wills on autopsy, organ donation, and final disposition of the body.
3. Treatment Preferences
The second part of the Georgia Advance Health Care Directive form provides information on Treatment Preferences. It specifies conditions in which the will expressed in this part should be executed. The desire to continue or discontinue life support is written down. There is also a place for making any other additional statements and giving instructions in case of pregnancy.
4. Guardianship
The part on the Guardianship assigns either the health care agent from part one or any other person as the patient’s guardian. The guardians’ personal information should be filled out here, specifying whether the person is different from the agent.
5. Effectiveness
This part of the Health Care Directive form is about Effectiveness. It states cases and conditions in which the form is effective and what other legal documents this form substitutes. Here, the dates when the document comes into force and its validity expires are stated (otherwise, it becomes valid from the day of signing until full recovery or death.
6. Signatures
At last, the declarant signs the form, proving that they are emotionally and mentally stable enough to sign the document consciously. After that, two witnesses sign the document to prove that the patient signed the Directive. Witnesses are not obliged to be present at the moment of the patient’s signing.
Thus, the Georgia Advance Health Care Directive form can help terminally ill or old patients to express their will on health care matters, legal representation, and body disposal in case of death. The patient’s directions have full legal power and must be performed by those assigned.