Mayo Clinic Minute: Creating An Advance Directive For Your Future Well-Being (Video)

No one can predict the future, but putting together an advance directive can bring you peace of mind and a plan for your medical care during an emergency or end-of-lifewell-being.

Dr. Maisha Robinson, chair of the Palliative Medicine Department at Mayo Clinic in Florida, advises people to have these conversations with family members and loved ones.

Editor’s note: April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day

Watch: The Mayo Clinic Minute

“An advance directive is (really) a document that allows you to write out what your preferences are,” says Dr. Robinson. “It often will say, ‘If you can’t make decisions for yourself, who would you want to help you make medical decisions?’”

Though it may be difficult, Dr. Robinson says to have a conversation with loved ones before becoming critically ill.

Advance care planning is for people at every stage of life.

“So this is not just for people who have a serious or advanced medical condition,” …