Which document is essential for ensuring that a person’s medical wishes are followed?

The essential document for ensuring that a person’s medical wishes are followed is called an advance directive. This document provides specific instructions about an individual’s preferences for medical treatment in case they become unable to communicate those wishes themselves. It may include directives about life-sustaining treatments, resuscitation preferences, and designating a healthcare proxy, someone who can make decisions on the person’s behalf.

Advance directives are crucial because they guide healthcare providers and loved ones in making decisions that align with the individual's values and desires regarding their care. This ensures that the person's medical wishes are respected, even when they cannot voice them.

While the Patient Bill of Rights outlines the rights of patients within the healthcare system, it does not provide personal medical directives. A medical history is a record of a patient's past medical issues but does not contain current wishes regarding treatment. An informed consent form is a document that protects both the healthcare provider and the patient by ensuring that the patient understands the nature and risks of a proposed treatment, but it does not specifically address the patient's long-term medical wishes or decisions about care in critical situations.