Recently, the Uniform Law Commission formed a new committee to review the Uniform Health Care Decisions Act (UHCDA). Although, New York is not one of the states that follows the UHCDA, the potential changes the committee is discussing brings important issues to light. The states that do follow the UHCDA are Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Mississippi, New Mexico and Wyoming.
One consideration that the committee is reviewing is the relationship between advance directives, which include health care proxies and living wills, and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (often referred to as a POLST and in New York a MOLST – or Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment).
When a doctor is in an emergency situation, it is very unlikely that they have reviewed the patient’s wishes regarding end-of-life care. It’s likely that the doctor has never even met the patient before. The reality is that a living will or life-sustaining order is only effective if your agent under your health care proxy knows your end of life wishes.
