Patient decree

Who will make decisions for me if I am unable?

A patient decree ensures that your desires will be complied with for medical treatment if you are not able to express yourself or no longer have mental capacity due to an accident or as the result of illness.

A patient decree regulates medical treatment in the final stages of an illness or after a severe accident. A distinction is made between:

• standard patient decrees with brief instructions and
• patient decrees with detailed medical treatment instructions, which are geared towards people who are seriously ill.

A patient decree cannot be drafted by a third party.

Communicate your desires and give the completed, dated, signed patient decree to your family doctor or close relatives. Alternatively, you can also put the patient decree on an online platform and tell your physician and close relatives where it is stored. Carry a note in your wallet about your patient decree and where it is stored. You can also write a note on your insurance card about where your patient decree is stored.

Your patient decree should be regularly checked to see if it is still correct. If necessary, correct it, and confirm that it is correct by dating and signing it.