April 9, 2019, marks the beginning of Health Care Decisions Week, which culminates on April 16 with National Health Care Decisions Day.

California law provides individuals the ability to ensure that their health care wishes are known and considered if they become unable to make these decisions themselves.

In advance of this week of outreach, the California Medical Association (CMA) encourages physicians to prepare to speak with their patients about the importance of completing an advance directive to make sure their end-of-life wishes are known before a serious illness or injury occurs.

CMA has developed a number of guidelines, forms and other resources to assist providers, patients and loved ones with making important end-of-life decisions.

The information, available in English and Spanish, includes legally recognized documents such as Advance Directives, Do-Not-Resuscitate forms and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST). CMA's Advance Health Care Directive and POLST kits also include wallet identification cards and answer frequently asked questions from patients.

You can find a complete list of CMA's end-of-life health care resources at cmadocs.org/end-of-life.