What is an Advance Directive?
An advance directive is a set of legal documents that outline your wishes for healthcare if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.
Key documents include: durable power of attorney for healthcare and a living will.
Advance Directive Forms
When completing Advance Directive forms, Memorial recommends you speak with your physician about Advance Care Planning.
- Memorial's Advance Care Planning booklet includes information about advance care planning, a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, a Living Will and a Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) form. English | Spanish | French
- Advance Directive Forms: English | Spanish
- Mental Health Treatment Declaration: English | Spanish
- Living Will
Practitioner Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)
A POLST is a medical order that documents the types of treatment, especially life-sustaining treatment, a person would want at the end of their life if they were seriously ill. It is intended for elderly, frail and/or seriously ill patients who want to state whether or not they would want certain healthcare treatments.
A POLST is meant to be completed with a healthcare professional and needs to be signed by that healthcare professional in order for it to be valid.
You can learn more, and download the POLST form at POLST.org.
Effective Jan. 1, 2023, the law governing IL’s Power of Attorney for Healthcare has changed.
A patient’s agent may now present an electronic device displaying an electronic copy of an executed form as proof of the health care agency. The new provision of the law reads as follows:
If the agent presents the statutory short form electronically, an attending physician, emergency medical services personnel as defined by Section 3.5 of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Systems Act, or health care provider shall not refuse to give effect to a health care agency if the agent presents an electronic device displaying an electronic copy of an executed form as proof of the health care agency. Any person or entity that provides a statutory short form to the public shall post for a period of 2 years information on its website regarding the changes made by the amendatory Act of the 102 General Assembly.
See the Public Act that required this change in law at: Illinois General Assembly – Full Text of Public Act 102-0794 (ilga.gov).