Health Care Proxy
Information for Staff
Does your patient have a Health Care Proxy?
Consideration 1
Balancing beneficence and non-maleficence along with respecting patients values should be the goal of the health care team and health care proxy.
Consideration 3
A health care proxy should be making decisions that respect the patient’s religious beliefs, values and goals of care.
Consideration 2
When there is more than one health care proxy, they may work together or consecutively in decision making for the patient.
Consideration 4
Consider consulting the Health Care Ethics Service if ethical tensions arise or moral distress is being experienced by the health care team working with a health care proxy.
A health care proxy is a legally designated health care decision maker. This occurs when a patient appoints someone to make decisions for them in the event they are not able to communicate their wishes or make medical decisions themselves. When a patient is not able to speak for themselves, all effort should be made to find out if a patient has a health care proxy and a Health Care Directive. Health care proxies are required to carry out health care decisions of the patient outlined in their advanced care directive/health care directive. If a patient does not have an advanced care directive/health care directive, the health care proxy should make decisions that respect the patient’s previously stated goals of care, religious beliefs and values.
A health care proxy is anyone that the patient feels they can trust with the responsibility for making health care decisions for them. This can be family, friends, and even neighbors. In most provinces, health care proxies need to be at least 18 years of age and considered mentally competent.
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Patients should choose someone who they feel confident knows what their wishes and treatment decisions would be. It is important the health care proxy knows what their role is for that patient when making health care decisions. Patients may have more than one health care proxy. If a patient has more than one health care proxy it is important to understand what the role of each of the appointed individuals are.
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Situations can arise that create ethical tension and the right thing to do is not clear. This might include disagreements about health care decisions amongst family and friends, even when a health care proxy has been appointed or when there is concern that the health care proxy is not carrying out the wishes, beliefs or values of the patient. In these situations, a consult to the Health Care Ethics Service can help with resolution and decrease moral distress amongst the patient’s health care team.
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To see an example of a Health Care Proxy form, please click here.