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Making Decisions: Advance Care Planning

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Advance Care Planning is a process of clarifying your values and health care choices for use at a future time if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. 

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What is an Advance Directive?

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An Advance Directive is a legal form that helps your doctors and loved ones understand your wishes about medical and mental health care and make decisions about your care, if you are not able to make decisions for yourself.  An Advance Directive is the best way to ensure that your future medical care reflects your wishes.

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The VA Advanced Directive

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VA Form 10-0137 (VA Advance Directive Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and Living WILL) includes sections that allow you to identify the person who would make decisions for you (also called a Health Care Agent) and to specify your treatment preferences. Those sections are: Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care – the part that says who will make decisions for you and a Living Will – the part that details your wishes about treatments.

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VA Form 10-0137a (What you should know about Advance Directives?)

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Explains that you have the right to accept or decline any recommended medical treatment. Normally, your doctor explains your options for health care and you get to decide what is best for you. But what happens if you are too sick to make decisions for yourself? Who would you want to make decisions for you? Does this person know what you would or wouldn't want? Questions like these can be hard to think about, but they're important. That's why VA wants you to know about advance directives. For more information about Advance Directives, click on the link below:

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To download VA Form 10-0137 VA Advance Directive Durable Power of Attorney for Health care and Living WILL, click on the link below:

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To download VA Form 10-0137a What You Should Know About Advance Directives, click on the link below:

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