The Building Blocks of Medical Decision-Making Documents
Before you can understand how a living will or health care power of attorney works, you need to know what the law means by these terms. A.R.S. 36-3201 provides the official definitions for the entire health care directives chapter. Several of them matter more than you might expect.
"Health care directive" means a document drafted in substantial compliance with this chapter, including a mental health care power of attorney, to deal with a person's future health care decisions.
A.R.S. § 36-3201(5)That phrase "substantial compliance" is important. Arizona does not require a health care directive to follow a rigid template word for word. If the document reasonably follows the chapter's requirements, it can be valid. This gives family members and attorneys flexibility when drafting these documents.
Key Terms That Shape Your Rights
Several definitions in this statute carry real practical weight. A "surrogate" is anyone authorized to make healthcare decisions for a patient. This can happen through a power of attorney, a court order, or the default priority list in A.R.S. 36-3231. An "agent" is more specific. It refers to an adult named through a health care power of attorney to act as one of the patient's decision makers for treatment.
"Living will" means a statement written either by a person who has not written a health care power of attorney or by the principal as an attachment to a health care power of attorney and intended to guide or control the health care treatment decisions that can be made on that person's behalf.
A.R.S. § 36-3201(10)The statute also defines "comfort care" as treatment given to protect and enhance quality of life without artificially prolonging it. This is sometimes called life care. It matters when families face difficult choices about end-of-life treatment, including situations involving a DNR order or whether to begin cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
A DNR order, short for "do not resuscitate," tells providers not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation if the patient's heart or breathing stops. Understanding these terms helps ensure that when a patient becomes unable to communicate, whatever documents are in place actually do what the family intended.