Advance Care Planning

Different states have different laws about advance care planning documents. In Oklahoma, one type of advance care planning document is the Advance Directive for Health Care (“Advance Directive”).

The Advance Directive is a legal document in which you record your healthcare wishes and designate a trusted decision maker, named a Health Care Proxy, in the event you are unable to make your medical decisions.

An Advance Directive is widely associated with serious illness or end of life preparation. However, your Advance Directive and Health Care Proxy may guide your care team in the event you can no longer make your medical decisions, even temporarily. Without a guardian or advance care plan in place, decisions about your health care default to a statutory list of decision makers who may or may not know what you would want.

Your Advance Directive is a safeguard for you, your medical team and your loved ones that removes the pressure of decision-making and guessing your desires in the middle of a crisis.

At Saint Francis Health System, we want to empower patients and physicians to normalize filling out and filing their Advance Directive. Below, you'll find a free downloadable guide to walk you through completing the Oklahoma Advance Directive for Health Care, as well as a link to the form itself.

If you have additional questions, please call the Oklahoma State Department of Health Center for Health Statistics at 405-426-8030