Advance Care Planning

Make Your Healthcare Wishes Known

Advance Care Planning is a process of understanding, reflecting on, discussing, and documenting your wishes in a Health Care Advance Directive to plan for a time when you cannot make your own medical decisions.

A Health Care Advance Directive is a free, legally binding document, suggested for everyone over the age of 18. It tells your healthcare team what medical care you want and designates a proxy decision maker, allowing you to be cared for as you planned while also providing comfort to loved ones.

Filling Out Your Health Care Advance Directive

MaineHealth has a free Advance Directive form online, and additional information is available on MaineHealth's Advance Care Planning webpage. You can also schedule a visit with your primary care provider to talk about your choices.

Once completed, a copy of the document should be given to the person whom you have identified as your proxy decision maker, and also filed with your healthcare providers and hospital medical records.