If you are in the midst of a crisis, it’s critical for doctors and other health care providers to know who to listen to and who can make decisions. Obviously, if it’s your regular physician, the ideal solution is to give him or her a copy of your health care advance directive and have it placed in your file. But there are services that could make your advance directive available any where, anytime, world-wide. One of those services is DocuBank. Although this post is not meant to endorse DocuBank or promote it over competing services, DocuBank is now 30 years old and its website says:

“information is key in an emergency situation.  When you store your healthcare directives (living will, health care power of attorney) with DocuBank, you receive a personalized DocuBank Emergency Card that makes all of your emergency information and critical healthcare documents available in two convenient ways: By Phone: By calling 1-800-DOCUBANK, hospitals have your information immediately faxed to them. By Computer: By clicking the Hospital Button or going to www.getdirectives.com, hospital staff can view and print documents immediately.”

Here’s our advice:

1. Everyone should have a health care advance directive.
2. Your agent and backup agents should have a copy.
3. Your primary treating doctor(s) should have a copy.
4. Your attorney should have a copy.
5. A copy should be kept in a safe location where people you trust can find it.
6. If anything changes regarding your wishes or values, update your advance directive and redistribute the new version to the persons named above.