An advance care plan captures your wishes ahead of time
Whether you’re 21 or 99 years old, putting your preferences, goals, and values of care into writing can be a good idea for people of all ages and health conditions. An advance care plan helps your voice be heard in the event that you’re in a serious accident or unexpectedly become too ill to speak for yourself.
As a CarePlus member, you have access to MyDirectives®, a digital advance care plan that can be accessed anywhere in the world at any time. MyDirectives allows you to create your advance care plan online from scratch or upload existing paper documents. You can also identify any people who you would like to help speak and make healthcare decisions on your behalf in the event that you cannot do so on your own.
MyDirectives offers video tutorials, a printable conversation guide for family discussions, and a printable wallet card with a scannable QR code to help doctors find and use your advance care plan. If you have an Apple device, download the
Examples of decisions you can document in an advance care plan
In emergencies, doctors have a variety of treatment options. They may sometimes use artificial ways to keep someone alive or administer care focused on relief of pain and anxiety, depending on the patient’s wishes. With an advance care plan, you can make advance decisions such as these:
- Who should make healthcare decisions on your behalf?
- Would you want a doctor to administer certain treatments such as CPR, a ventilator, or a feeding tube?
- How religious or personal preferences might affect your treatment
- Would you want certain types of medical care that focus on comfort and relief of pain and anxiety?1
When you use MyDirectives to create an advance care plan, you can change your decisions at any time. It is easy to make updates if your health status or perspectives change.
Is an Advance Directive the Same as a POLST?
You may be familiar with a POLST, which means a Physician Order for Life-Sustaining Treatment. A POLST is different than an advance care plan but is also an important document. A POLST is more focused on the very end of life and is completed by a doctor. On the other hand, an advance care plan is completed by you and captures details you consider important regarding your care.
Important things to know about CarePlus and MyDirectives
- Only you, your healthcare agents, authorized representatives, and your providers will know what’s in your advance care plan. Neither CarePlus nor Medicare will be aware of what’s in your plan.
- You are the one who decides who can see your goals, values, and preferences for care.
- You can update your advance care plan at any time, at no additional cost to you.
Creating your MyDirectives plan helps ensure your wishes will be known when you cannot speak for yourself. It can help provide peace of mind for your family to know your wishes are being honored.
To sign up and complete an advance care plan,
If you are a CarePlus Special Needs Plan member participating in care management, you may also contact your CarePlus Care Manager for help creating an advance care plan.
Please keep your advance care planning documents in a safe, secure, and accessible location. If you have an Apple device, you can download the
