From the Office of the General Counsel. Advance medical directives

The American Medical Association's Board of Trustees recently issued a report on advance medical directives, Living Wills, Durable Powers of Attorney, and Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care (AMA; 1989). Here Orentlicher, writing under the auspices of the AMA's Office of the General Counsel, offers an expanded version of that report. Orentlicher's article discusses the advantages and drawbacks of living wills, the appointment of a proxy decision maker through a living will, a durable power of attorney, or a durable power of attorney for health care, and the physician's role in implementing treatment preferences.