With National Advance Care Planning Week occurring 21-27 March, it’s a good reminder to make sure your future health care preferences are uploaded to My Health Record, where they can be easily accessed when needed.
Don’t let the burden fall on those you love
“National Advance Care Planning Week reminds us of the importance of making your loved ones aware of your preferences for future healthcare and treatment. If you become unwell, the burden of decision-making falls on those you love,” says Adelaide GP, Dr Chris Moy, Deputy President of the Australian Medical Association and ambassador for National Advance Care Planning Week.
“Having conversations beforehand about what matters most to you, documenting your choices, and knowing where this information is stored and available can help ease this burden. My Health Record is equipped to store your advance care directive, allowing it to be accessed by your health care team at a place and time in the future when it’s needed. It's an important mechanism to ensuring you receive care that is aligned with your preferences, no matter what the future holds.”
Storing advance care planning documents to your My Health Record means you and your healthcare providers have secure access to them whenever they’re needed. It’s particularly vital in emergency settings, because it enables your treating team to have a better understanding of your preferences and the type of care you may want.
A carer’s story
As Craig Cooper shared in the video A carer’s story: “I wanted to ensure that Geoff had as much dignity as possible at the end of his life, and that his wishes were taken care of. I wasn’t prepared for how difficult it was to try and advocate for Geoff’s needs. He was clear verbally before he got sick about what he wanted but he’d never put anything in writing.
“An advance care directive would have made it much easier. An advance care directive empowers the patient and empowers the family so that we can communicate on your behalf about what your wishes are. Having a roadmap through uncertainty is so beneficial. It’s confronting and it’s a lot to actually go through. An advance care plan is a way of alleviating some of that emotional intensity for your family and for your loved ones.”
Make sure your preferences are stored safely
“When a sudden medical event occurs, access to a person’s documented health care preferences is imperative. We’ve heard desperate stories of loved ones frantically trying to access advance care directives from solicitor’s offices, home offices, and personal laptops. If you’ve gone to the trouble of documenting your preferences, make sure you take that critical extra step of uploading your document into My Health Record,” explained Linda Nolte, Program Director of Advance Care Planning Australia.
Ask your GP to sign your advance care directive. Share copies with your substitute decision-maker, family, friends, carers and your doctors.
Once your advance care directive or other advance care planning document has been signed, add it to your My Health Record so that your preferences can be safely and securely accessed if they are ever needed.
You can add your advance care planning document to your record any time. See the instructional video.
Individuals can also remove their advance care planning document from their My Health Record at any time and replace it with a new one with refreshed details.
To find more information about uploading advance care planning documents to My Health Record, head to Australian Digital Health Agency’s website.
To find more information and resources, head to National Advance Care Planning Week.