What is National Healthcare Decisions Day, and its importance | Read here

National Healthcare Decisions Day is one of the most important days that everyone should know about. It is a day that empowers and educates about the awareness of National Healthcare Decisions Day to the public and other healthcare providers. They are educated and instructed well to take part in an important advance care planning regarding their healthcare. If there is no advance direction regarding healthcare, the medical personnel depend on a family member to determine their wishes. Family members are also most of the time struggling while making these difficult decisions. Hence, the National Healthcare Decisions Day teaches us that such difficult decisions can be avoided with advanced planning.  

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The execution highlights the importance of advance directives, and national, state and community organizations come together in a collective effort to promote the day. These advanced bodies are functioning together to make sure the availability of the information, opportunity, and access needed to file such health care decisions. Sometimes advance care planning seems like a difficult discussion, as this decision making leaves family members struggling to make the decision for you. But, the implementation of a complete advanced directive eliminates the burden from our loved ones. It also liberates us to have more lovely conversations in the future. 

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What is National Healthcare Decisions Day’s Observation/Celebration-

• Plan in advance for your essential and necessary healthcare decisions.
• Collect and keep all the documents you need now, complete all the documentation, and keep them safely where they are easy to get to.
• It is really important to discuss your decisions with your loved ones.
• Inform them about where are your documents, so that in the occurrence of a healthcare event they can manage things easily.
• Most importantly, make people aware and also encourage other family members to complete an advance directive, too.
• Share a post on social media using a #HealthcareDecisionsDay

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What is NATIONAL HEALTHCARE DECISIONS DAY's History

Nathan Kottkamp, McGuireWoods LLP, founded National Healthcare Decisions Day to help educate and instruct the general public about advance directives. Also to let people know how important it is to follow these guidelines and take the National Healthcare Decisions Day seriously. Hence, 16th April of every year is celebrated as the National Healthcare Decisions Day.

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