In Connecticut Advance Directives are documents that can be signed by a person 18 or older designating a person to make medical decisions for you should you become incapable. The person appointed is called a Health Care Representative they can only make decisions after the person who appointed them is found incapable by their physician. Once enabled the Health Care Representative can discuss medical treatment options with your physician and other medical providers, choose the facility where you should receive treatment, make medical decisions, consent or refuse treatment, attend conferences and meetings, discharge you from facilities and arrange and coordinate care providers to bring you home, accept or refuse end of life care and treatment and access medical records. If the person delays and does not appoint a representative in advance of a disabling or incapacitating event and becomes incapable they will have no medical decision maker and their family will need to ask a court to appoint someone.
