Making a Power of Attorney for Health Care More Useful

On March 26^th, I wrote about the importance of having Powers of Attorney for Property and Health Care. Today, I am continuing that story to mention a service that can make a Power of Attorney for Health Care more useful.

That service is called DocuBank. It provides a card the size of a credit card. The card contains

• your name,
• allergies or medical conditions that a hospital would need to know
• The person to contact in an emergency with multiple phone numbers
• A toll free telephone number and web site where a hospital can get your Power of Attorney for Health Care, Living Will and HIPAA authorization as well as a list of your current medications.

The DocuBank card is useful because it improves the usefulness of the Power of Attorney for Health Care. For example, if you are unconscious and taken to an emergency room. How will the hospital know who to contact? The hospital will look through your wallet hoping to find something in there that will give them a clue. Remember if you are unconscious, the hospital will have to look at your driver’s license just to find out your name.

If you have a DocuBank card in your wallet, the hospital will not only know who to call, they will also know about allergies and medical conditions—vital information for them. In addition, the hospital can call and get a copy of your current list of medications and your Power of Attorney for Health Care.

So, when the hospital reaches your emergency contact they will not have to ask your emergency contact, do you have a Power of Attorney for Health Care, and please bring it. That is one less thing that your emergency contact will have to worry about when they are focusing on getting to the hospital to see you as soon as they can.

There are similar services tailored to college students and children.

For your security, the card and the service do NOT contain any financial information at all.

The cost for this service is $25.00 per year (about 50 cents a week).

Below is a picture of a sample card

Disclaimer

This is a passive blog and the materials contained herein are provided for informational purposes only. Nothing contained in this blog should be interpreted as a solicitation of business and none of the information contained herein constitutes legal advice. The law is subject to change without notice, and the local laws of your residence may be different from the general information displayed on this blog. You should not rely on the information provided on this blog without first consulting an attorney. Contacting this website does not establish and attorney/client relationship between you and its publisher Christopher W. Matern.

An attorney/client relationship can only be established with Christopher Matern by engaging in direct person-to-person contact with Christopher Matern. Christopher Matern does not intend to practice law in any jurisdiction in which he is not licensed.