What is PREPARE?

Prepare for Your Care (PREPARE) is an online resource that helps people begin the important process of planning for medical decision-making. Using video stories, PREPARE helps people explore their personal wishes and learn how to discuss them with family, friends, and medical providers. You can access the website by going to PREPAREforYourCare.org.

How can I donate and help support the PREPARE program?

Thank you for thinking of us. PREPARE is not a business, but a small program run out of the University of California, San Francisco. We depend on grants, license agreements, gifts, and donations to keep the website up and running and free to the public. Every little bit helps. If you would like to make a donation, please visit this site.

PREPARE is a free resource to the public, but some uses of PREPARE require a license. Companies, organizations, clinics, hospitals, insurers, employers, researchers or other institutions will need a license. You can find more information about PREPARE Licensing here.

Do I have to watch all PREPARE for THEIR Care videos?

No. You can pick which videos are right for you. Each video is about 5-10 minutes.

PREPARE for THEIR Care is divided into 3 topics:

1. How To Use This Program and About Medical Planning

2. How To Help Other People With Their Medical Planning, When People Can Still Speak for Themselves

3. And, How To Make Medical Decisions for Other People, When People Cannot, or Do Not Want to, Speak for Themselves

What are all the different PREPARE for THEIR Care materials?

PREPARE has several different types of materials that can be helpful for different purposes:

The PREPARE for THEIR Care Website: This website will support you as you help other people with their medical planning and medical decisions. The website has videos that walks people step-by-step through important information, stories, and words to say.

PREPARE for THEIR Care Program Guides: Two Program Guides summarize the information found in each of the PREPARE for THEIR Care videos.

• One of the Program Guides is about “How To Help Other People With Their Medical Planning” and can help you when your family and friends can still speak for themselves.

• The other Program Guide is about “How to Make Medical Decisions for Other People” and can help you when a family member or friend cannot, or does not want to, speak for themselves.

Is PREPARE for THEIR Care in more than one language?

PREPARE for THEIR Care is currently only in English. We are seeking additional funding to include Spanish, Chinese, and additional languages.

However, the PREPARE easy-to-read Advance Directive is available for all 50 US states in English and Spanish, 13+ states in Chinese, and 11 languages in California, and the PREPARE for YOUR Care program (to do your own medical planning) is in English and Spanish.

Is advance care planning right for someone who is not ready to think about end-of-life care?

Yes, advance care planning is for people at any age or stage of health. It is not just about medical care at the end of life. It is about taking time now to think about what is most important to them in their life and their medical care both now and in the future.

Are there other names for a medical decision maker?

Yes. Sometimes this person is called a surrogate or proxy decision maker, a patient advocate, or durable power of attorney for health care. However, all these terms mean the same thing.

What are the responsibilities (job) of a decision maker?

This information can be found on Page 3 and 4 of your state’s easy-to-read advance directive. In most states, if you are not able, a medical decision maker may choose these things for you:

• doctors, nurses, social workers, caregivers

• hospitals, clinics, nursing homes

• medications, tests, or treatments

• who can look at your medical information

• what happens to your body and organs after you die

Depending on how you fill out the form, here are more decisions your medical decision maker can make:

Start or stop life support or medical treatments, such as:

• CPR or cardiopulmonary resuscitation

• Breathing machine or ventilator

• Dialysis

• Feeding Tube

• Blood and water transfusions (IV)

• Surgery

• Medicines

End of life decisions your medical decision maker can make:

• call in a religious or spiritual leader

• decide if you die at home or in the hospital

• decide about autopsy or organ donation

• decide about burial or cremation

The PREPARE Easy-to-read Advance Directive allows you to write down the people that you do and do NOT want to make decisions for you and the decisions that you do and do not want them to make.

What makes a good decision maker?

This information can be found in Step 1 of the PREPARE website and on Page 3 of the easy-to-read advance directive.

A good medical decision maker is a family member or friend who:

• is 18 years of age or older

• can talk to you about your wishes

• can be there for you when you need them

• you trust to follow your wishes and do what is best for you

• you trust to know your medical information

• is not afraid to ask doctors questions and speak up about your wishes

Does my medical decision maker have a say in BOTH my health care and my finances?

A medical decision maker, sometimes also called a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare ONLY has a say about your medical care. They do not have a say about your finances. There is a separate durable power of attorney for finances form that can be filled out. Ask your social worker or lawyer about these separate forms.

Does having a medical decision maker mean only that person gets to make the decisions?

Often times, a group of family members and/or friends will come together to make healthcare decisions. When this occurs, conflict may result. This is why it is recommended that one person is named as the decision maker/healthcare agent/spokesperson to speak for the group. A secondary person can also be named as an alternative or backup.

Does my medical decision maker have a say in BOTH my health care and my finances?

A medical decision maker, sometimes also called a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, ONLY has a say about someone’s medical care. The medical decision maker does NOT have a say about your/their finances. There is a separate durable power of attorney for finances form that can be filled out. Ask your social worker or lawyer about these separate forms.

What about Conservatorship?

People who are conserved are those individuals whose doctors and lawyers have determined they can no longer make their own medical decisions and who have not yet filled out an advance directive naming a medical decision maker. In this case, a court appoints another party to be a conservator. This conservator can then make medical decisions for this person. They cannot fill out an advance directive for this person, but they can talk with the medical team and be involved in directing medical care for that person.

This is why it is important to name someone you trust to be your medical decision maker. You may even consider naming a back-up in case the first person cannot help when you need it.

Who will make decisions for me if my medical decision maker dies or becomes ill?

If the chosen medical decisions maker can no longer help anymore because of death or illness, the medical team will usually turn to the next of kin or a family member. An advance directive allows people to name an alternative or backup decision maker, which can be a good idea.

Does this advance directive form really count?

Yes. Doctors take these forms very seriously. The important part is for the person to talk to their family, friends, and medical providers about their wishes and give them a copy of the form or let them know where it is stored. This way, others can advocate for them if they are unable to speak for themselves. It is also important to bring the advance directive to medical providers so they can put a copy into the person’s medical record.

What is the difference between an advance directive, living will, or POLST form?

To learn more about the different types of forms, watch the video called “About Advance Directive Forms” on the PREPARE for THEIR Care homepage. This video goes over all the different types of forms and how they are different.

Is POLST called something else in other states?

In other states, POLST may be called other names, such as POST, MOST, MOLST, or be in different colors. In many states the form is pink.

Most states have POLST forms, but some states do not. Ask your medical providers about the POLST form in your state.

Is an advance directive the same thing as a POLST form?

There are big differences between advance directives and POLST forms.

• An advance directive is a form that YOU fill out about your medical decision makers and your medical wishes. An advance directive can be completed by an adult at any age or stage in health.

• The POLST form is a medical ORDER that ONLY a doctor or medical provider fills out. That form is only about life sustaining treatment, such as CPR or going to the hospital, and has checkboxes. That form does not allow you to name a decision maker. The POLST form is meant for very sick people near the end of their life.

• The National POLST Paradigm website is a good place to learn more about POLST.

This video is also a great way to learn about POLST.

To learn more about the different types of forms you can watch the video called “About Advance Directive Forms” on the PREPARE for THEIR Care homepage.

Where can I learn more about POLST forms?

The National POLST Paradigm website is a good place to learn more about POLST.

This video is also a great way to learn about POLST.

To learn more about the different types of forms you can watch the video called “About Advance Directive Forms” on the PREPARE for THEIR Care homepage.

Who can be a medical decision maker?

A medical decision maker must be at least 18 years old. This person should be someone they can trust to make medical decisions for them. It is important that the person knows they have been chosen for this role. Remember, a medical decision maker cannot be a doctor or someone who works at the hospital or clinic, unless they are a family member.