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An advance directive is a legal document that allows you to communicate your health care preferences if you should lose the ability to make decisions for yourself. This advance directive has been developed in compliance with Indiana law to help you document your wishes about health care. It has three parts:

The Indiana Appointment of Health Care Representative allows you to name someone you trust to speak for you any time you are unable to make your own medical decisions, not only at the end of life.
Indiana Living Will Declaration (Declaration A) allows you to refuse life-prolonging treatments if you develop a terminal illness and can no longer make your own medical decisions. It goes into effect only when your doctor certifies in writing that you are in a terminal condition and that your death would occur within a short period of time without the use of life-sustaining medical care.
Indiana Life-Prolonging Procedures Declaration (Declaration B) allows you to request the use of all life-prolonging treatments should you develop a terminal condition and can no longer make your own medical decisions.
Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate Declaration and Order is for situations outside of a hospital or health facility. The "Out of Hospital Do Not Resuscitate Declaration and Order" is used to state your wishes. The law allows a qualified person to say they do not want CPR given if the heart or lungs stop working in a location that is not a hospital or a health facility. This declaration may override other advance directives. You may cancel the declaration may be canceled at any time by a signed and dated writing, by destroying or canceling the document, or by communicating to health care providers at the scene the desire to cancel the order. In a hospital or health facility setting, if you have a terminal condition and you do not want CPR, your physician will write a "do not resuscitate" order in your medical chart.

The Indiana Hospice & Palliative Care Organization recommends that you complete the Indiana Appointment of Health Care Representative and either Declaration A or Declaration B, to best ensure that you receive the medical care you want when you can no longer speak for yourself.

These documents are designed to ensure that your wishes are known and followed. Discuss your advance directive with your doctor, family, friends, clergy, attorney and anyone who may be involved in your care. Completing this workbook first can make the process easier. It provides some questions to help you think about your future and make decisions about what is most important to you.

For more information about Advance Directives from the Indiana State Department of Health, visit < http://www.in.gov/isdh/regsvcs/acc/advance/advanceddirectives.pdf>. For information in Spanish, visit < http://www.in.gov/isdh/regsvcs/acc/advance/advancedirectivesspanish.pdf>.