Legal Advisor: Advance Directives
Health Care Proxies
A health care proxy must: 1) identify the principle and agent, 2)
state that the principle vests the power to make health care decisions
to the agent, 3) outline any limitations on the agent’s authority,
and 4) indicate that the proxy takes effect upon the incapacity of the
principle. The law presumes the validity of a health care proxy unless
proven otherwise in court. A health care provider given a copy of
a proxy must place it in the principle’s medical record.
A proxy is revoked when a principle performs an act that evidences
intent to revoke the proxy, including the execution of a subsequent
proxy, or divorce or separation where a spouse is the principle’s
agent. When notified of the revocation of a proxy, staff must
notify the principle’s attending physician who must record the
revocation in the principle’s medical record and notify the agent
orally and in writing, as well as any additional known health care
providers of the principle.
Next: Incapacity
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