A major part of palliative care involves helping patients plan for future medical decisions.
Northside Hospital palliative medicine physician Dr. Carrie Stallings said advance care planning ensures patients’ wishes are known and respected.
“It means helping someone at any age or any stage of their health understand and share their personal values and goals to help inform their preferences for their future medical care,” she said.
She emphasized that planning is not a one-time decision.
“It’s really a process that occurs over time, and it may change over time,” Dr. Stallings said.
The most important step is choosing a health care agent.
“The health care agent is the person that you would most want to make decisions for you specifically about your health care if you ever are not able to make them for yourself,” she said.
This person becomes the patient’s voice.
“The agent’s role is to be your voice,” Dr. Stallings said. “They are supposed to be making the decisions that they think you would have made.”
That may include decisions about providers, treatments, procedures or life-sustaining care.
Choosing the right person is critical. Dr. Stallings recommends selecting someone who understands your values, can make difficult decisions under stress and communicates well.
Discussing wishes ahead of time is essential.
“The more you tell your agent, the better they’re going to be able to help make the decisions you would want,” she said.
Advance directives are legal documents that name a health care agent and may outline treatment preferences.
“The whole purpose of all of this is to make sure that your treatment wishes are honored if you’re ever unable to communicate them yourself,” Dr. Stallings said.
If someone does not have an advance directive, Georgia law provides a default decision-making order, starting with a spouse, then adult children, parents and siblings.
Still, Dr. Stallings encourages people to make their wishes clear.
“The future is uncertain,” she said. “We hope for the best and still prepare for the worst.”
Advance care planning can prevent confusion and reduce stress for families.
“It helps avoid putting this unnecessary burden on our families,” Dr. Stallings said, “and allows us also to maintain some control over the care we receive.”
Plan for serious illness … just in case.
For people with serious or life-limiting illnesses, physicians may also complete a POLST form, which outlines specific medical orders.
“This is a form that your doctor fills out in conjunction with you about what things specifically you may or may not want,” Dr. Stallings said.
Preferences may include CPR, intensive care or artificial nutrition.
But like advance directives, these decisions can evolve.
Your preferences might change over time.
Dr. Stallings said it’s helpful to periodically review your advance care planning documents to be sure names, contact information and health care wishes haven’t changed.
Ultimately, advance care planning gives patients, families and clinicians confidence.
“It allows patients, families and their medical providers to feel confident that the decisions that they’re making are what the patient would want,” Dr. Stallings said.
LEARN MORE ABOUT ADVANCE DIRECTIVES.
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References:
- Gelfman, Laura P., Moritz Blum, Modele O. Ogunniyi, Colleen K. McIlvennan, Dio Kavalieratos, and Larry A. Allen. “Palliative Care Across the Spectrum of Heart Failure.” JACC: Heart Failure 12, no. 6 (June 2024): 973–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jchf.2024.01.010.
- UCLA Health. “Advance Care Planning: What Is ACP?” Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.uclahealth.org/programs/advance-care-planning/what-acp.
- Academy of Medical-Surgical Nurses. “Palliative Care.” Accessed January 30, 2026. https://amsn.org/Practice-Resources/Medical-Surgical-Monitor/Article/palliative-care.
- Center to Advance Palliative Care. “About Palliative Care.” Accessed January 30, 2026. https://www.capc.org/about/palliative-care/.
