Making Informed Healthcare Decisions for Yourself & Loved Ones
Throughout life, making informed health care decisions is important. Gathering information, receiving guidance from trusted providers, and making decisions that align with your own beliefs and goals can help support better chances at positive outcomes. However, that’s easier said than done. Whether you’re making end-of-life health care decisions for yourself or for a loved one, you’ll contend with both practical and emotional challenges. Keep reading for information about how to overcome those.
Key Takeaways
- Medical decisions are often an important part of end-of-life decision-making.
- It can be difficult to make these decisions in a vacuum, and it’s important to seek support from loved ones, care providers, and other resources.
- Advance directives allow you to record your decisions so they can be followed later.
- Signs that a loved one may need help with making health care decisions can include confusion, memory challenges, emotional distress, and not managing health conditions well.
End-of-Life Health Care Decision-Making
End-of-life decisions related to health care typically involve choices about how you want to be treated medically if you are facing a terminal illness or nearing the end of the natural aging process. Decisions of this type can be complex and deeply personal. Typically, you must consider how decisions might impact overall quality of life as well as your personal values and medical options.
Some common considerations can include:
- Choosing treatment options. If you’re facing a terminal illness, you may need to make choices about potentially life-prolonging treatments. This might include choices related to surgery, chemotherapy, or dialysis, for example.
- Planning for end-of-life care. You may need to make arrangements for end-of-life care and let your wishes about options such as hospice be known.
- Documenting choices for emergency interventions. To ensure your wishes are followed by medical providers even when you can’t voice them yourself, you may want to document your decisions about specific interventions, such as whether you want a do-not-resuscitate order (DNR) or how you feel about intubation and machines that assist your breathing.
For Individuals Making Their Own Health Care Decisions
If you’re making decisions on behalf of yourself, seeking out information and taking time to consider your options carefully is important. Below are some tips for ensuring you can make educated decisions about your own end-of-life health care.
Be Proactive and Advocate for Yourself
While good doctors and other care providers take time to educate their patients, you can’t rely solely on other people to gather data and make informed health care decisions. This is especially true if you’re dealing with a complex illness, as you might have an entire care team. Get insight and information from all your providers and other reputable sources so you can get a big-picture understanding of your choices. Know that you will not make good medical providers angry by asking questions or wanting a second opinion.
Reach Out for Support
Health care decision-making isn’t something you have to do all on your own, but these types of journeys can feel lonely at times. Reach out to family, friends, medical providers, community support networks, and other resources for support along the way. Some ways you can get support while maintaining independence and autonomy in your decision-making include:
- Inviting someone you trust to come to appointments with you to help take notes and ensure you remember critical information
- Asking for help with mundane tasks, such as cooking or cleaning, so you can devote energy to educating yourself and making decisions
- Speaking to non-medical professionals, such as lawyers or accountants, about options for protecting your interests during end-of-life
Communicate Your Wishes
Once you make decisions about your end-of-life care, ensure they are communicated appropriately. Verbally discuss your wishes with loved ones or close friends so they understand what to expect, and consider recording your wishes for health care providers via an advanced directive or living will.
Keep a Journal or Use a Note-Taking App
Use a journal or note-taking app to record essential information and instructions from your providers. You can also write down questions so you don’t forget to ask them at appointments and gather your own research in this journal or app for review later.
For Those Making Health Care Decisions on Behalf of a Loved One
Not everyone is able to make their own end-of-life decisions. If you find yourself in the position of helping someone else with these choices, the tips below might help.
Signs Your Loved One Needs Assistance With Health Care Decisions
Be aware of signs that someone you love might benefit from help making end-of-life health care decisions. Some signs that this might be the case include:
- Cognitive decline. Confusion or problems with memory or focus can indicate that someone is struggling with cognitive function. This can make it challenging to engage fully with the medical system, understand complex treatment options, and make sound decisions about care.
- Communication challenges. If someone is having trouble with speech or other communication channels, they may need help explaining their needs and wishes to caregivers.
- Emotional distress. Poor mental health or the presence of anxiety, depression, or substance abuse disorders can make it difficult for someone to make reasonable choices. But even if your loved one isn’t dealing with these types of issues, they may need support as they navigate emotional choices if they have recently received a difficult diagnosis.
- Mobility limitations. In some cases, individuals have the cognitive capacity to research their choices and make them, but they might need assistance in getting to appointments.
- Poor health management. If you notice that a loved one is missing appointments, not caring for themselves well with regard to end-of-life nutrition, or is mishandling medication, these can be signs that they need help.
Offer Immediate Support When Appropriate
If you see any of the above signs, offer immediate support in a kind and tactful way. This can include listening to your loved one’s concerns, offering to attend health care provider appointments with them, and helping them gather and understand research.
Respect Their Wishes
Unless someone is deemed to be of unsound mind, their end-of-life decisions are theirs to make. It’s important to respect the decisions of your loved one, but you can provide feedback in a caring manner. Use active listening skills to truly hear the reasons for a loved one’s decisions and communicate in an empathetic and understanding manner.
A health care proxy makes medical decisions when someone can’t. If you agree to be the health care proxy for a loved one, make sure you have an understanding of their needs, values, health concerns, and living will, if they have one. Keep copies of advance directives and contact information for medical providers and family. Ask your loved one about additional preferences, like spiritual or cultural traditions, when you need to make decisions.
Dr. Brindusa Vanta, MD
Create Long-Term Support Strategies
Once you establish a relationship of support for your loved one, create strategies that support long-term success and work for you both. Some options include:
- Scheduling regular check-ins. This might look like a regular phone call or having breakfast together a few times a week. It could also be a daily video call or an afternoon visit. The goal is to ensure your loved one is comfortable and that you’re supporting them while also allowing them independence if they desire it.
- Encourage your loved one to create an advance directive. This ensures the wishes they discuss with you are written down for health care providers and others.
- Be patient. These decisions can feel urgent or even a bit scary, and it’s natural to seek the peace of mind that comes with finishing some of these tasks. At the same time, you and your loved one may be considering weighty topics, and these matters can take some time to consider properly.
Advance directives help individuals specify their preferences for medical decisions and treatment in advance, ensuring their wishes are honored. These advance directives also provide legal protection and peace of mind to both the individual and their family.
Dr. Brindusa Vanta, MD
Embracing Support and Compassion in Health Care Decision-Making
Navigating end-of-life health care decisions is a unique journey — one that often comes with emotional and practical challenges. Recognizing that these decisions are complex and often require time and reflection can help you feel more at peace during this journey, as can seeking support from loved ones and following the tips outlined above.
Written by Sarah Stasick
Sarah Stasik is a Six Sigma project manager and freelance writer who covers topics ranging from personal finance and small business management to insurance and healthcare. Prior to making the move from corporate ladder to freelance shuffle, Sarah worked as a Revenue Cycle Manager for a Fortune 500 healthcare business. https://sarahstasik.com/
Edited by Katelynne Shepard
Katelynne Shepard is a writer, editor and SME who is proficient at crafting and reviewing content. She has been a full-time copywriter and editor since 2011 and has written content for Fortune 500 companies, independent law firms, indie publishers, small-business owners and mainstream websites. She specializes in parenting, lifestyle, family law, personal injury, criminal law, immigration law, astrology, personal finance, education and health care. In addition to thousands of e-commerce product and category descriptions, Verle's work includes SEO blogs, social media posts and long-form informational articles.
Subject Matter Expert Brindusa Vanta, MD
Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a healthcare professional, researcher, and medical subject matter expert . She earned her MD degree from "Iuliu Hatieganu" University of Medicine, Romania. She has a special interest in mental health and has collaborated with psychologists and other mental health practitioners on various research projects focused on therapies to manage depression, age-related cognitive decline, trauma and stressor- related conditions.