John Crowell, from Charlotte North Carolina, has asked us to put up his story. He got a big surprise during a recent hospital stay. When he was sleeping, a nurse tried slipping on a “do no resuscitate” bracelet upon his wrist. This life-ending order was made without his consent and left him rightfully feeling “angry, terrified, and afraid.” Seems the hospital got a big surprise too.
There are many experts working to solve big challenges in healthcare – from training enough doctors to finding a cure for cancer – finding a solution to this problem is NOT hard.
In fact, MyDirectives believes this problem can be cured very quickly with two steps: people create a digital emergency, critical and advance care plan and hospital information systems safely and securely link to those plans. That way every person can have confidence their voice can be heard. And since the best plans these days are digital, you can even attach video messages to your plan so your voice can truly be heard – literally!
The first step is easy – just go to MyDirectives.com or MyDirectives MOBILE if you’re an Apple user. For the second step, tell your doctors and nurses you want them to connect. The next time you ask your health insurance plan a question or try to pre-clear coverage, ask them to make a note you have a digital plan. It’s never their business what your plan says. But when they know it exists, they can alert hospitals about your plan in the event that you have a health emergency and can’t tell your doctors yourself.
That would have made a big difference for Mr. Crowell. Do you think this is an approach all governments should be advocating. If you do join the movement and create your own directive.