Advance Care Planning: Talk With Your Care Team
Advance care planning is a conversation about future medical decisions if you become seriously ill or cannot communicate your wishes. It can begin before a crisis and be revisited as your health, values, or circumstances change.
Prepare for the appointment
- Write down what matters most to you, including treatments or outcomes you want to discuss.
- Bring a current medication list and a short summary of diagnoses, recent changes, and questions.
- Invite the person you may want to speak for you if you could not speak for yourself.
- Bring any existing advance directive and ask where an updated copy should be kept in your medical record.
Questions to ask your health care team
- What decisions could this diagnosis or treatment create in the months ahead?
- What are the likely benefits, burdens, and alternatives for each option?
- How would pain, breathing problems, or other distressing symptoms be managed?
- When might palliative care, hospice, a social worker, or a care manager be appropriate?
- Who should my family or health care proxy contact if my condition changes?
- What changes should prompt a call or a follow-up appointment?
Conversations and legal documents serve different roles
Talking with your care team and loved ones is part of advance care planning. An advance directive records instructions for medical care if you cannot communicate and may name a health care proxy. Forms and requirements vary by state. The National Institute on Aging’s advance care planning guidance explains these distinctions and offers a current conversation guide.
For more context, read our broader advance care planning guide and our plain-language advance-directive overview.
Use this guide as an appointment aid
This page and downloadable question guide are for education and appointment preparation. They do not replace advice from your clinician or a qualified attorney. Ask a qualified professional about decisions and documents for your situation and state.
Download the free question guide for your appointment.
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