What You Can File and How
Arizona's health care directives registry accepts several types of documents: healthcare directives, prehospital medical care directives (including POLST orders), and any amendments or revocations of those documents. The qualifying health information exchange organization that operates the registry sets the specific submission procedures.
A person may submit to the health care directives registry, in a manner prescribed by the qualifying health information exchange organization, health care directives, including prehospital medical care directives and any amendments to or revocations of these documents.
A.R.S. § 36-3292(A)Filing is voluntary. You do not have to register your directives for them to be valid. But if you do file, the documents must meet the same formality requirements as the originals. That means they must be either notarized or witnessed in the manner prescribed by Chapter 32.
Identity Verification Protects Your Documents
The statute requires the health information exchange organization to establish a process for authenticating the identity of anyone who submits documents. This is a safeguard. Your healthcare directives contain deeply personal decisions about medical treatment, and the registry needs to ensure that only authorized individuals can submit, amend, or revoke them.
The qualifying health information exchange organization shall establish a process for authenticating the identity of the person who submits a document to the health care directives registry.
A.R.S. § 36-3292(B)If you have already created healthcare directives as part of your estate plan, consider registering them. It adds an extra layer of accessibility without changing anything about the documents themselves.
