Conversations Worth Having

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 In Tip of the Month
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Ask your patients who their Substitute Decision Maker is:

As health care providers, before providing treatment, you must get informed consent from the patient or from their Substitute Decision Maker (SDM) if the patient is not mentally capable. Advance Care Planning is not consent, but good Advance Care Planning conversations prior to a health crisis can help your patients and their loved ones be better prepared to make informed health care decisions when the time comes.

What can you do?

Encourage your patients to identify their SDM

The first step of Advance Care Planning is deciding who will be your SDM. In Ontario, there are two ways your patients can decide who their future SDM will be:

1) Confirm their automatic future SDM from the hierarchy OR
2) Choosing someone else to act as their SDM by preparing a Power of Attorney for Personal Care (a legal document)

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