Patient Advocate Designation

Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare

Few decisions are more personal than decisions about medical care.

Michigan law allows you to sign a Patient Advocate Designation, sometimes referred to as a durable power of attorney for healthcare. This document allows you to choose a trusted person to make healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to participate in those decisions yourself.

Your patient advocate can communicate with physicians and other healthcare providers and make medical decisions on your behalf within the authority you have provided. Your documents can also express your wishes concerning matters such as life-sustaining treatment and other healthcare decisions that are important to you.

A patient advocate designation can provide reassurance not only to you, but also to your family. Rather than leaving loved ones uncertain about who should speak for you or what you would have wanted, you can make those decisions in advance.

For many families, that clarity is one of the most valuable parts of an estate plan.