Understanding Idaho's Advanced Care Directive

Idaho's Advanced Care Planning Document allows you to appoint someone to make health care decisions for you if you become incapacitated, and state your wishes for the type of end of life care you want if you are no longer able to communicate with your doctor. Stating your end-of-life wishes spares your loved ones the burden of trying to guess your wishes, helps avoid conflict among family members advocating different levels of treatment, and protects you from receiving more medical care than you want.

In Idaho, your end-of-life wishes become relevant if (1) you are unable to communicate and (2) a doctor certifies that: 

1. You have an incurable or irreversible injury, disease, illness or condition
2. Your condition is terminal
3. Artificial life-sustaining procedures would serve only to artificially prolong your life, and
4. Your death is imminent whether or not artificial life-sustaining procedures are used; OR
5. You have been diagnosed as being in a persistent vegetative state
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The Advanced Care Planning Document provides you with three options for your end-of-life care: 

1. Comfort Care: which means you want all artificial life-sustaining treatment and artificial nutrition and hydration be withheld or withdrawn but that you be offered food and water by mouth for as long as you are able to chew or swallow voluntarily, and that you be given comfort care, such as pain medication, to relieve pain or distress.
2. Continuation of Artificial Life-Sustaining Treatment: which means you want all medical treatment, care, and procedures necessary to sustain your life be provided, including artificial life-sustaining treatment and artificial nutrition and hydration.
3. Other: which is a place for you to write your own wishes.
   
   

The election you make is entirely up to you. It is a personal decision and there is no “right” or “wrong” choice.  And, importantly, you can always change your election if you decide you want to make a different choice.