Law Office of Alicia Porter

The last thing anyone wants to think about when they are going on a trip is Advanced Medical Directives.

Let’s be realistic – who wants to plan for a fun vacation out of frigid north going to Mexico, Hawaii, Argentina, anywhere that isn’t as cold as the -40 that is common in a Fairbanks winter or the -2 plus nasty windchill that is common in Anchorage, Bethel, or Barrow? Why think about the worst case scenario when you are going to a happy place for some warmth?

The reality is that car accidents and travel accidents can occur while enjoying a vacation. I advise clients to take along an Advanced Medical Care Directive with them, as well as a list of their medications and allergies, not because there needs to be a fear factor in planning for a trip, but because it can really be a helpful tool if something does happen. Nothing is worse than having to go to court for an emergency petition if there is a problem.

Alternatively, if you are going to an area where you will be staying a long time (being a winter snow bird in Arizona, perhaps? ) then it is a good idea to have the local hospital’s advanced care medical directive done for that particular state. Sometimes situations can crop up where one hospital won’t honor another hospital’s form for an advanced health care directive, and if the patient isn’t able to execute a new document, things can get garbled quickly. It is just easier to download the hospital’s form (if available) and have a copy that is properly executed with you for the hospitals in the area you intend to stay for a month or more. For clients that like to visit with each of their children in different areas of a state for a month at a time, I suggest to them that they have the forms filled out and on file at each of the hospitals (and keep a copy for themselves) so that if they have a medical crisis at one child’s home, the local hospital can immediately step in without trying to ascertain who has the appropriate authority to make the necessary health care decisions.