Virginia Advance Medical Directive

Virginia AD Forms

In this post you will find various advance medical directive forms for Virginia, beginning with the most commonly used form, along with background on advance directives, a table for choosing the right form for you, and info and links to the registry where your wishes may be uploaded to the Virginia Department of Health (VDH).

Virginia Advance Directive for Health Care with Sections for Medical and End-of-Life Health Care

This is the most commonly used advance directive (“AD”) form. It has sections for medical wishes and end-of-life health care, and complies with the Virginia Healthcare Decisions Act. You do not have to use this form to create an AD. However, if you choose to use a different form, you should consult with an attorney or your health care provider to be sure the different form will be valid under Virginia law.

See table below for more pre-made forms from Virginia Advance Directives.

What is an AD?

From Virginia Advance Directives

An Advance Directive (AD) is a legal tool that you can make.  It is a type of “advance care planning” tool. You can use it to plan ahead for your own health care.

Q You can make decisions about your health care today…but what if in the future you were injured or ill and could not make those decisions?  

A You can help your loved ones and health care providers by giving them details about what you would want and what you would not want.  That way, they can make decisions as close to how you would make them as possible.

There are three ways that you can control your future health care with an AD:

1. Write instructions and preferences about treatment.
2. Pick a substitute decision-maker (agent).
3. Both of these.

ADs are not about just end-of-life care anymore.

The first tools like ADs focused on end-of-life care.  You may have heard of terms like “living will,” for example.  ADs take the idea of planning ahead and apply it to all areas of health care. 

Picking an AD Form

From Virginia Advance Directives

In Virginia, you do not have to write your Advance Directive on a certain form. But there are a number of benefits to using a pre-made form.

A pre-made form:

• Can help you to make decisions in an organized way,
• Can help you make sure that you provide enough information in your AD for it to be useful, and
• May be easier for doctors to recognize and follow.​

There are many forms available that you can use. There are links to 3 different Advance Directive forms in the chart below, as well as an add-on that can be added to a form that does not already have a protest provision.  

This chart shows what each form includes to help you choose which form best meets your needs.You can also answer a few questions here to help figure out which form might be best for you.

Pre-Made Advance Directive Forms

What to do with your AD?

Now that you have created an advance medical directive, what do you do with it? Can you just post it on the refrigerator? While the AD posted to your refrigerator might be legal, it can be all too easily overlooked in the hectic moments during a medical emergency. Or, if created well in advance, it could just as well get damaged, lost, and forgotten.

If you change your mind several times over the years, how can you be sure that the most current version will be used by your medical team and family? People aren’t always diligent about record-keeping, and could inadvertently refer to an outdated version.

Your circumstances will be unique to you, but it is recommended that you share your AD with your doctor and any healthcare providers, and with your proxy or agent if you have one. If you revise your AD, it behooves you to request the previous paper version back before sharing the updated version, or to request to watch the digital copies deleted and replace with the new ones. It is also recommended that you store paper copies in a safe place, such as where you store your will, and to make a digital copy for storage in the cloud.

Submitting your AD with your state registry is the final recommendation for ensuring that your end-of-life wishes are followed. In Virginia, this is managed through VDH.

Advance Health Care Directive Registry

Submit your advance directive to the Advance Health Care Directive Registry which acts as a central clearing house for AD’s and similar documents. Virginia Department of Health manages the registry, which is now located at vhi.org.

From VDH Virginia Department of Health

A person may submit any of the following documents and the revocations of these documents to the Department of Health for filing in the Advance Health Care Planning Registry established pursuant to Code of Virginia Article 9 (§ 54.1-2995):

• A health care power of attorney.
• An advance directive created pursuant to Article 8 (§ 54.1-2981 et seq.) or a subsequent act of the General Assembly.
• A declaration of an anatomical gift made pursuant to the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (§ 32.1-291.1 et seq.).
• Any other document that supports advance health care planning, including Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order or portable medical order forms.
• The document may be submitted for filing only by the person who executed the document or his legal representative or designee.
• All data and information contained in the registry shall remain confidential and shall be exempt from the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).

§ 54.1-2981. Short title

Contact Virginia Advance Healthcare Directives Registry

Phone: 1-800-LIV-WILL (1-800-548-9455)
E‐mail: admin@uslivingwillregistry.com
Business Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET

Contact Connect Virginia

E‐mail: support@connectvirginia.org
Business Hours: Mon–Fri 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET

Contact Us with Any Questions

Phone: (540) 953-5589
Email: fcavbr@gmail.com