Don't leave your family powerless to act on your wishes!

Don't leave your family powerless to act on your wishes! Don't risk extraordinary measures and procedures you do not want! Learn how to create effective advance care directives that will protect you and your choices.

Inside the pages of Advance Care Planning, you'll be briefed on: ✓ What a health care power of attorney really means ✓ 6 questions you should answer before selecting a proxy ✓ Privacy rules and health care agents ✓ Who you should not consider ✓ How to make sure everyone understands and accepts your choice Dear CERASALE, Its tempting to think that only the very elderly or infirm need advance care directives, but that's not the case. An accident can change your health status overnight. Advance care directives — health care proxies and living wills, among others — are documents every adult should have. They are your best defense against unwanted and unwarranted procedures. Advance care directives will ease the burden upon your spouse or children, provide clear instruction to your doctor, and give you peace-of-mind. Bonus! Includes forms for preparing advance care directives that meet current rules and guidelines. Know that your wishes will be their command! Although the subject is difficult to think about, effective advance care directives are easy to create. That's what this new Special Health Report from Harvard Medical School is all about. In this report, you'll discover the essential considerations for selecting a health care proxy and for drafting a living will consistent with your wishes for care and quality of life. When it comes to a health care proxy, you want a stand-in who will stand up for you. The report provides key questions to help you make the best choice. (Did you know that there are three people who should never be your health care proxy? The report identifies this trio.) You'll learn how to quell objections to your choice, the impact of current privacy rules, and what to do if you wish to change proxies. The report will show you how to prepare an incontestable living will. You'll be warned about the common mistake that could handcuff your proxy and your doctor. You'll know what to consider before including a DNR, the pros and cons of artificial nutrition and mechanical ventilation, as well as who should have copies of the will. You'll also discover a newer approach to advance planning called POLST (physician orders for life-sustaining treatment). Unlike standard advance directives, POLST gives your wishes the authority of a physician-written medical order that is portable and effective across care settings. This will ensure that your wishes guide treatment in the hospital, at a nursing facility, or at home. And what if you are called upon to be a health care agent? The report includes ten tips to help you do a better job. You'll find helpful advice for encouraging a reluctant friend or relative to get an advance directive, and the potential consequences if you don't choose an agent or fill out a living will. Don't put it off another day. Send for your copy of Advance Care Planning now. To your good health, Howard E. LeWine, M.D. Chief Medical Editor, Harvard Health Publishing