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Tag: Power of Attorney for Health Care

College Students Executing A Health Care Proxy And Power Of Attorney

For many teens across the country, college has finally begun! Many students are beginning their freshman year of college at 18 years old.  This means that they are considered an adult. Due to this, parents or guardians no longer have the right to access their child’s medical information even though they are likely paying tuition and have the adult child on their health insurance. Many estate-planning attorneys are advising parents and guardians to obtain a health care proxy with a HIPPA waiver, as well as a Power of Attorney.

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POLST and Advance Directives: You Need Both!

In December 2011, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie signed legislation that enables patients to indicate their wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment through the practitioner/physician orders for life-sustaining treatment (POLST) form. POLST is a medical order that is completed by a physician or an advance nurse practitioner (APN) and is intended for patients with life-limiting illnesses. The advance planning tool POLST should be established and utilized complementary to, not in place of, advance directives.

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How an Advance Directive Can Benefit Loved Ones with Alzheimer’s Disease

More than 68 percent of New Jersey residents know someone who has or had dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, according to a survey conducted by Fairleigh Dickinson’s PublicMind. Dementia is a group of symptoms that can include impairments to one’s ability to think and communicate, as well as memory loss. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia. It is a progressive, degenerative disorder that impairs thinking, behavior and memory. Due to the degenerative nature of the disease, those with Alzheimer’s are encouraged to obtain an advance directive, a legal document that can direct medical and financial wishes, even after the point when individuals lose the ability to do so themselves.

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