© 2024 MICHIGAN PUBLIC
91.7 Ann Arbor/Detroit 104.1 Grand Rapids 91.3 Port Huron 89.7 Lansing 91.1 Flint
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Michigan will create a central database for advance medical directives

www.siumed.edu

It will soon be easier for Michigan hospitals and doctors to check to see if their patients have “advance medical directives."  

The directives help doctors understand how a patient wishes to control the medical care they receive. Advance directives are legal documents that allow individuals to specify patient advocates, religious preferences, and other decisions about end-of-life care.  

Governor Rick Snyder is scheduled to sign legislation creating a central database for medical directives later this afternoon.

“People can say…with confidence…they know that if they fill one of these out and it’s registered….there’s much better hope that it will be picked up in time so that it really can be valuable in terms of someone making those decisions," says Snyder.  

Michigan will be the first state in which people can have their advance directives accessible throughout the country.

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.