living wills

I wrote this story for today’s News as a sidebar to the Schiavo case.

The Terri Schiavo case has caused a flurry of interest in living wills, but doctors and lawyers say there’s a better way.

A second-generation instrument for medical planning known as a health care proxy is more flexible and generally superior to living wills, experts said.

“I’ve been a missionary for them for years and years,” said Navah Harlow, director of the center of ethics in medicine at New York’s Beth Israel Medical Center.

A health care proxy is a simple form appointing a surrogate, such as a spouse or child, to make medical decisions for patients that can’t communicate their wishes.

In contrast, living wills convey patients’ wishes on issues such as pain relief, resuscitation and ventilators.

“Living wills are so specific,” Harlow said. “You cannot envision every situation that may enfold in a hospital room.”

Who’s ever heard of a health care proxy? But they’ve been around in New York since they were authorized by state law in 1990.