An "Advance Medical Directive" is an advance instruction in writing that clearly states and identifies oneself to medical officers and family members on what medical treatment he/she wishes (and does not wish) to receive, once he/she is a terminally ill patient, in long-term coma or vegetative state and mental insufficiency; and/or he/she is mentally incapable of making medical decisions.
When making an "advance directive",
he/she is mentally sound Clearly indicate the specific circumstances under which his/her directive can be executed by medical officers and family members;
Be clear about the consequences of refusing or accepting the treatment described in his/her directive;
and When making his/her directive, he/she is completely voluntary.
If you want to make sure your advance directive is still legally valid, before you are mentally incapacitated to make a decison on medical problems, please contact your lawyer for further legal advice. This will avoid an adverse consequence of your family member taking legal action against a hospital which refuses to accept and disobeys your Advance Directive.
In the case of Anthony Bland, which was appealed to the House of Lords in UK in February 1993, the court ruled that an adult’s patient’s advance directive for "selective" withdrawal from a life-supporting medical device by adopting a form of artificial nutrition and hydration, is legally binding, and the hospital must comply.
