Health Care Proxy Form

You have a right to make your own medical decisions. You can consent to medical treatment or refuse it. For instance, you might not want medical treatment if you were terminally ill and treatment would only prolong a painful existence. But what if you were incapable of expressing your wishes?

You can appoint an agent to make medical decisions on your behalf by signing a Health Care Proxy Form. You can give your agent complete authority to make such decisions or you can limit his or her authority as you please.

Unfortunately, in New York, except under very limited circumstances, if you have not appointed a health care agent, no one will be able to make medical decisions on your behalf. Health care professionals will have no choice but to continue medical care for you. This is true even if you are terminally ill or in a permanent vegetative state.

A Health Care Proxy Form can prevent you from receiving health care you do not want and having your life prolonged under circumstances where it does not make sense to do so. However, you must sign a Health Care Proxy Form while you are legally competent to make health care decisions for yourself. A Health Care Proxy can prevent unnecessary and perhaps painful medical procedures for yourself and unnecessary expense and disruption for your family.