§ 2507 — Health-care instruction

(a) An individual may create a health-care instruction that expresses the individual’s preferences for future health care, including preferences regarding all of the following:

(1) Health-care professionals or health-care institutions.

(2) How a health-care decision will be made and communicated.

(3) Persons that should or should not be consulted regarding a health-care decision.

(4) A person to serve as guardian for the individual if 1 is appointed.

(5) An individual to serve as a default surrogate.

(b) A health-care professional to whom an individual communicates or provides an instruction under subsection (a) of this section shall document the instruction and the date of the instruction in the individual’s medical record or communicate the instruction and date of the instruction to an administrator with responsibility for medical records of the health-care institution providing health care to the individual, who shall document the instruction and the date of the instruction in the individual’s medical record.

(c) A health-care instruction made by an individual that conflicts with an earlier health-care instruction made by the individual, including an instruction documented in a medical order, revokes the earlier instruction to the extent of the conflict.

(d) A health-care instruction may be in the same record as a power of attorney for health care.

Legislative History

70 Del. Laws, c. 392, § 3 ; 84 Del. Laws, c. 467, § 1