Patient Rights
The following links provide an explanation the rights our patients have when they receive care at one of our facilities.
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Advance Directives
At Atrium Health, we believe your care should line up with your health goals and values at each stage of your life. In good health and in sickness, we want to make sure we respect and meet your needs.Advance directives are forms you fill out to tell others the kind of medical care you want. They are helpful if something happens to you, and you can’t speak for yourself. Through advance directives, you can make legally valid decisions about your future medical care. Work with your doctor, your healthcare team and loved ones to make choices that are right for you. Read more about advance directives
There are several types of advanced directives. Click on the name of the directive to see the form. Fill out the form and share it with your primary care doctor or other healthcare provider.
- Health Care Power of Attorney: This allows you to name another person to make medical decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself. You can include instructions about any treatment you want or do not want, such as artificial nutrition and hydration. You can draw up a Health Care Power of Attorney with or without the advice of a lawyer.
- Living Will: This is a document where you can tell your doctor when to stop life-sustaining treatments and let you die naturally. A living will is used when you can no longer make your own decisions, when you are terminally ill with no hope of recovery, and when the use of life-sustaining treatments would only prolong the process of dying.
- Advance Instruction for Mental Health Treatment: This allows you to write down how you would like your mental health treatment handled in the future. It goes into effect only in the event you become incapacitated and are unable to make sound choices due to the occurrence of mental illness. You can create a directive that gives someone else the legal authority to make mental health decisions for you, and you can write down instructions about treatments you do or do not want to receive.
- MOST Orders: Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) is a medical order that outlines a plan of care respecting your care at life’s end. It is primarily intended for patients who have an advanced chronic progressive illness and those who are seriously ill.
- Portable “Do Not Resuscitate” Orders: These are medical orders used to assist in providing information relating preferences for cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This signed order indicates that in the event of cardiac and/or pulmonary arrest, efforts at cardiopulmonary resuscitation should not be initiated. This order does not affect other medically-indicated and comfort-oriented care.
Atrium Health's policy
Of course, a living will, healthcare power of attorney and advance instruction are useful only if your doctor, other healthcare professionals involved in your care, your designated healthcare agent, and your family knows about them. If you already have a living will, a healthcare power of attorney or an advance instruction, it is very important that you give copies to your doctor.
Even if you decide to sign a living will or healthcare power of attorney indicating your desire that life-sustaining procedures not be used to artificially prolong your life, you will continue to receive customary medical and nursing care to provide comfort, to alleviate pain, and to maintain your dignity. In fact, under North Carolina law, no healthcare agent you appoint has the authority to withhold or discontinue care necessary to provide comfort or alleviate pain.
The principles described above have been included in a written hospital policy on the rights of adult patients to refuse unwanted medical treatment.
Our policy recognizes that an individual has the right to sign a living will, healthcare power of attorney or an advance instruction to express the person's desire for a peaceful and natural death and desire that life-sustaining procedures not be used. We recognize these rights, but in no way discriminate against a person based on whether the individual has signed a living will, healthcare power of attorney or an advance instruction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How do I prepare a living will, healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction?
A: You can prepare a living will by completing the sample of a living will (also known as a Declaration of a Desire For a Natural Death) or a healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction by completing the form available upon request. The document should be signed in the presence of two witnesses who should not be hospital employees, family members or close relatives. The witnesses should sign in the spaces provided for them. The completed document should be notarized by a notary public. Our hospital patient representatives can assist you with the notarization of your living will, healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction and, if necessary, with obtaining witnesses.
When completing the living will, you will need to initial your specific wishes regarding life-sustaining procedures. The living will allows you to authorize your physician to withhold or discontinue life-sustaining treatments including tube feedings (called "artificial nutrition and hydration" in the living will) or allows you to authorize your physician to withhold or discontinue life-sustaining treatments other than tube feedings (called "extraordinary means" in the living will).
In addition, the living will allows you to make different choices depending on whether you are terminally ill or are in a persistent vegetative state. Instructions on completing the healthcare power of attorney and an advance instruction are included with the standard forms available upon request.
Q: How long are living wills, healthcare powers of attorney or advance instructions effective?
A: A living will is effective until it is cancelled by you. Many people suggest, however, that you review, initial and date your living will every few years. A healthcare power of attorney and advance instruction are effective until cancelled by you. If you do not cancel the healthcare power of attorney, but at some point in the future the court appoints a guardian for you, the healthcare power of attorney ceases to be effective. For this reason, healthcare power of attorney forms usually contain a provision by which you may nominate your healthcare agent to be appointed as your guardian, if in the future a guardianship proceeding is necessary. The court is required to consider your wishes when making its appointment of a guardian.
Q: Is it possible to change your mind after signing a living will, healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction?
A: Yes. If you change your mind, you can cancel your living will in any manner by which you are able to communicate your desire to do so. Your cancellation of the living will is effective upon communication of the cancellation to your doctor. You should destroy a cancelled living will as soon as possible.
You may cancel your healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction by signing a document which revokes the healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction, by signing a subsequent Healthcare power of attorney or in any manner by which you communicate your intent to cancel. However, your cancellation of either of these becomes effective only upon your communication of the cancellation to your physician and to your healthcare agent, if you have one.
Q: Is the living will the same as a last will and testament which leaves a person's possessions to others?
A: No, it is not the same. It has nothing to do with your worldly goods.
Q: Does a healthcare agent appointed with a Healthcare power of attorney have any power or authority over my property or financial affairs?
A: A healthcare agent's power is limited to healthcare matters and, except as necessary to provide for your healthcare, the healthcare agent does not have authority over your property or financial affairs. North Carolina does have another law by which you can name a person to act as your attorney-in-fact for financial matters. This type of power of attorney is called a general power of attorney. North Carolina law does allow you to combine a healthcare power of attorney with a general power of attorney and name one person to act as your agent on all matters.
Q: Does a living will or healthcare power of attorney mean that a patient has decided not to have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)? [CPR is used when a person's heart stops beating or when he or she stops breathing.]
A: No, a living will or healthcare power of attorney does not automatically eliminate the use of CPR. You and your physician should talk about this question together and/or with your family, if appropriate. If you have appointed a healthcare agent, your physician would talk about this question with your healthcare agent.
In addition to speaking with my doctor, who else would be helpful to me in discussing a living will, healthcare power of attorney or advance instruction? We always encourage patients to talk with family members, clergy and friends.