Healthcare Authorization

When you make a Designation of Health Care Surrogate with HIPPA Release Authorization, you can give your health care agent as much or as little power as feels comfortable to you.  Most people give their health care agent comprehensive power to supervise their care in the event they are unable to make those decisions personally.

Recognizing this, the power of attorney forms give the person you name the authority to make all health care decisions for you unless you specifically place limits on that authority in the document. This means that your agent will normally be permitted to:

• consent or refuse consent to any medical treatment that affects your physical or mental health (there are usually exceptions to this rule for situations such as extreme psychiatric treatments and termination of pregnancy, and your agent is not permitted to authorize any act that violates the wishes you've stated in your health care declaration)
• hire or fire medical personnel
• make decisions about the best medical facilities for you
• visit you in the hospital or other facility even when other visiting is restricted
• gain access to medical records and other personal information, and
• get court authorization, if required to obtain or withhold medical treatment, if for any reason a hospital or doctor does not honor your health care declaration or the authority of your health care agent