Final answer:
An advance directive should be kept in a safe, accessible place and copies should be given to your health care proxy, family members, and healthcare providers. It plays a crucial role in guiding decisions if you are brain dead on life support and helps ensure your personal choices for quality-of-life and end-of-life care are known and followed.
Step-by-step explanation:
Once an advance directive has been completed, it is crucial to ensure it is accessible to those who need to reference it in the event you become incapacitated. You should keep the original document in a safe but easily accessible place. Inform your family members, health care proxy, and primary care physician of its location. It is also advisable to give copies to your health care proxy, any alternates named in the document, and your healthcare providers to include in your medical records. If applicable, you should consider bringing a copy with you when you are admitted to a hospital or other care facility.
In the situation where a person is declared brain dead and on life support, an advance directive can guide loved ones and medical personnel in making decisions about continuing life support, such as when to remove a feeding tube. Medical care costs can be a factor in these decisions, but the advance directive helps to ensure the individual's wishes are the primary concern.
Proactive quality-of-life decisions, such as living wills and medical power of attorney, are becoming increasingly common. These legal documents empower individuals to make their choices known about medical treatment, care options in old age, and end-of-life care, reflecting their personal values, religion, and culture.