The West Virginia End of Life Center www.wvendoflife.org has announced that its e-registry of advance medical directives will be operational at the end of this month. Dr. Alvin Moss, the Center's project director reports that they are in the process of entering 6,000 medical powers of attorney, living wills, Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment (POST) forms, and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) cards into the database and are receiving about 20 new ones per day for entry.
The e-registry will be one of the first in the country. It enables HIPAA-compliant electronic access to healthcare providers all around the state to a database of healthcare directives for WV patients. Entering your directive into the e-registry is optional, and requires only that you fax your properly completed directive to the Center at 304-293-7442.
You do not need to execute new directives to register, you may enter your old directives, but it might create a good opportunity to review old directives to be sure they still represent your wishes about end of life and healthcare decisionmaking. You can get new forms at the Center's website www.wvendoflife.org, or from your healthcare provider. You do not need an attorney to complete the forms, but don't sign until you are with a notary and witnesses who are not your relatives.
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