Annals of Long Term Care

Many healthcare professionals agree that preparedness is vital among hospital staff and families in carrying out the end-of-life wishes of a patient. On January 20, 2012, ADVault, Inc, announced the release of MyDirectives, a free and secure service that allows individuals and their families to create, store, and retrieve advance medical directives. These documents, which often include living wills, medical powers of attorney, and “do not resuscitate” orders, give instructions about future medical treatment preferences in case a patient becomes unable to make decisions or communicate. MyDirectives also enables individuals to share audio and video messages to express end-of-life requests. In a press statement, ADVault, a provider of healthcare technology solutions, said that MyDirectives represents a major contribution to healthcare by equipping patients and their families with peace of mind before a crisis, while reducing unnecessary cost and trauma of unwanted medical treatments at the end of life.

“Doctors and nurses try to provide the best care,” said Scott Brown, ADVault president, in the press statement. “But when the patient can’t communicate, the medical team needs access to
quality advance medical directives. Consumers can take charge, for free, and have their voice heard, 24-7, anywhere in the world at the push of a button.”

MyDirectives uses the patent-pending Universal Advance Digital Directive (uADD^™) technology, the world’s first all-digital directive. The service is compliant with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and it can be accessed independently or linked through most electronic medical record-keeping platforms. See how MyDirectives works at http://mydirectives.com.