definition

Personal decision regarding actions to be taken or withheld in a medically terminal scenario.

commentary

These decisions are typically codified in a directives to physicians document.  Common issues to decide include whether artificial methods will be used to extend the natural process of dying, and whether nutrition and hydration will be withheld from terminally ill patients who are unable to swallow or digest normally.  A health care power of attorney can be used to designate a trusted person to have authority to make the necessary medical decisions.