Advance Directives
Legal documents in which a person specifies preferences for future medical care, including artificial nutrition and hydration.
Common forms: living will, durable power of attorney for health care (health care proxy), POLST/MOLST forms. Critical to honoring patient autonomy when capacity is lost. RDNs should review advance directives before initiating or continuing nutrition support, especially in serious illness or end-of-life care.
How one textbook covers it
Krause and Mahan's Food and the Nutrition Care Process, 16th ed. — Chapter 9
Common forms: living will, durable power of attorney for health care (health care proxy), POLST/MOLST forms. Critical to honoring patient autonomy when capacity is lost. RDNs should review advance directives before initiating or continuing nutrition support, especially in serious illness or end-of-life care.
Related terms
Hospice Care, Informed Consent, Palliative Care