Advance DirectivesAlthough it is hard to talk about the final phase of life, it can be a great gift to our family and loved ones to prepare them in advance for the sometimes difficult and distressing decisions that must be made. Preparing a few simple legal forms known as advance directives can help ensure that your wishes are respected and that your health care decisions stay in the hands of people you trust. A living will document provides written instructions about your wishes regarding healthcare. There is no law in New York State which sets up a format or rules regarding living will, but the courts have recognized such documents as evidence of your wishes regarding health care. Information documented in a living will can be helpful to your agent, if you have one, and can be especially useful if your agent and alternate agent is unavailable or has died before you. You can state your wishes directly in a health care proxy and may not need a separate living will. However, you may prefer to use a living will rather than a health care proxy if there is no one you trust to act as your agent. Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) NOTE: Effective May 1 2025, there will be a DOH approved, updated MOLST form, that will be uploaded to this site.The Department of Health has approved a physician order form, the Medical Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (MOLST), that can be used statewide by health care providers and facilities as the legal equivalent of an inpatient Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) form. MOLST was created to provide a single document that would function as an actionable medical order and could transition with a patient through all health care settings. It is intended that the form will be transported with the patient between different health care settings in order that their wishes for life-sustaining treatment and CPR will be clearly indicated. For more information, visit www.molst.org |