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Wishes Registered Wishes Honored

Your healthcare should be guided by your wishes. The Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry is designed to help.

Your Wishes, Safely Stored & Accessible.

We believe that every Arizonan should receive the healthcare they want, even when they can no longer speak for themselves. That’s why we developed the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR). The Arizona HIE worked with several organizations and partners around the state to develop the secure online registry for housing advance directives. All too often, Arizonans don’t have their healthcare wishes for end-of-life care documented—or if they do, the forms can’t be found when they are needed. We’re striving to encourage every Arizonan to discuss, document and register their end-of-life and critical care preferences.

Let’s Talk About Death.

Making decisions about end-of-life and critical healthcare can seem daunting. It’s uncomfortable, because it asks us to contemplate the most difficult moments of our lives—and imagine a time when we can no longer make decisions for ourselves. We’d like to remove the stigma of talking about death and encourage everyone to make it a “kitchen table conversation.” The moments we need our advance directives are rarely planned. Discussing, sharing, documenting and registering our wishes ensures that we stay in control of our care—and relieves loved ones and healthcare professionals from making decisions for us.

Program Community Support.

To develop the registry and website, Arizona’s HIE collaborated with many end-of-life (EOL) industry leaders from across the state. More than 40 passionate EOL partners donated their valuable time, energy, expertise and resources to help make the AzHDR a game-changer in how Arizonans complete and share their advance directives. Working together as a community, we can ensure that no matter where or when someone faces the moment they cannot communicate, their advance directives are registered, accessible and honored.

What is Contexture?

Contexture is a nonprofit healthcare information and technology organization that provides strategic, technical and administrative support to communities committed to advancing health through information sharing. Contexture operates Arizona’s health information exchange (HIE), Arizona’s primary resource for information technology and data exchange, integrating information with the delivery of care to improve the health and well-being of individuals and communities.

And now, Contexture is the home for the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry. In 2019, state legislation (Arizona Senate Bill 1352; statutes 36-3291 and 36-3295) granted the transition of the state’s registry from the Secretary of State’s office to the Arizona HIE to improve healthcare provider access to advance directives.

What Are Advance Directives

Through advance directives, you can document your preferences for end-of-life care—and assign a person you trust to make decisions on your behalf. In Arizona, advance directives include the following four forms:

Living Will

Outlines, in writing, your wishes regarding medical treatment in the event you are notable to communicate directly with your healthcare providers.

Health Care Power of Attorney

Lets you choose another person, called an agent,” to make healthcare decisions if you can no longer make those decisions for yourself.

Mental Health Care Power of Attorney

Allows and directs your chosen “agent” to make decisions for you regarding behavioral health placement and treatment if you no longer have capacity to do so yourself.

Prehospital Medical Care Directive (Do Not Resuscitate)

A document signed by you and a licensed healthcare professional that informs emergency personnel not to use means to resuscitate you.

Choose Your Person

Have you chosen your person? Check out this video that showcases the importance of selecting a medical power of attorney (mpoa) to make medical decisions for you when you cannot speak for yourself. Our ChooseYourPerson campaign with Hospice of the Valley and Mercy Care encourages individuals to complete an advance healthcare directive and submit it to the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR).

Having the Conversation

Advance directives aren’t just about planning for death. They are about planning for your future—how you want to be cared for if you become too ill to make decisions for yourself, whether due to old age, chronic illness or an accident. You’ve controlled your life thus far. Advance directives help you stay in control of the rest.

Registering Your Directives

Getting your advance directives into the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry is easy.
Here’s how to get started:

1

Discuss

It starts with a conversation. Make time to talk about advance care planning with loved ones, your healthcare team and other trusted advisors. Talking through your wishes will help you better define them.

2

Document

Record your preferences by completing Arizona’s advance directive forms. Forms are available through a variety of sources, including the Arizona Attorney General’s office.

3

Register

Make your wishes known by adding your documents to the registry. With your forms safely stored, you can have peace of mind that your care preferences will be accessible when they are needed most.

“People tend to think advance directives are for seniors. But COVID has changed the conversation. Lives were lost (and saved) across all ages. We’ve learned that you never know what the future holds. So it’s best to be prepared.”
Courtney Bennett | Director of Community Outreach, Arizona Attorney General's Office
“Think through, document and register your healthcare directives when you are not in a crisis and have the emotional space to make sound decisions.”
Pam Koester | CEO, Arizona Leading Age
“A firefighter's default setting is to save lives. They always want to do the right thing in chaotic circumstances. Sometimes the right thing to do is to honor end-of-life wishes. I urge all Arizonans to stay in control of what is done to them at the time of an emergency. Make your wishes known so they can be honored."
Steve Wagner | President & Founder, RightCare Foundation

Our Partners

Articles & Guides

Resources and advice on advance care planning.

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