Health Care Planning Resources

Health Care Planning Process

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Make A Plan. Our Health Care Planning Process makes it easy to start with a conversation and make your own care plan. 

Here how it works-

  • On the left side are the steps in this process to talk with others about your health and make care choices
  • On the right side are the corresponding documents to write down your care choices, and guides to help with conversations.

The care planning process helps to ensure you and your health care providers have early and on-going conversations to get the best possible care aligned with your goals, values and care choices.

Get started with simple conversation to name a Health Care Agent, and complete a Health Care Proxy, Then just follow the steps in the process to make a personal care plan. The Honoring Choices Tool Kits below have everything you need.

Start Here: Who's Your Agent? Program Tool Kits

Getting Started Tool Kit Cover

Getting Started Tool Kit

Everyone can  have a simple conversation and start to make your own plan. The tool kit includes:

  • MA Health Care Proxy form
  • MA Personal Directive (Living Will) form
  • "I Have a Health Care Proxy" Wallet Card
  • Start a Simple Conversation To Stay Well- Guide 1

Download the Getting Started Tool Kit

Next Steps Tool Kit Cover

Next Steps Tool Kit

Build on your conversations from simple to serious illness-

  • Honoring Choices Conversation Guides 2-4
    • Manage Chronic Illness;
    • Live Well with Serious Illness
    • Let's Talk About Palliative Care
  •  Update & Add Planning Documents
    • DPOA, MOLST, CC/DNR

Download the Next Steps Tool Kit

Conversation Guides

Honoring Choices MA and Ariadne Labs conversation guides work well together to engage in seamless conversations from simple to serious illness. Use them together or separately. The What Matters To Me Workbook  helps prepare adults and families for serious illness conversations. See below

Serious Illness Conversation Guides

For Health Care Providers: Ariadne Labs Serious Illness Conversations Guide

For Consumers:  What Matters To Me Workbook available in English, Spanish, Chinese, Ariadne Labs and The Conversations Project.

5 Massachusetts Care Planning Documents

Here are the planning documents we use in Massachusetts. Download and print information and forms. 

Health Care Proxy

Choose a trusted Health Care Agent to make care decisions. Appoint in a Health Care Proxy.

Read More

Personal Directive (Living Will)

Write down what's important to you and instructions for the care you want.

Read More 

Durable Power of Attorney

Choose a trusted person to make financial decisions for you and pay for the care you need.

Read More 

Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment

Seriously ill patients talk with clinicians about their treatment decisions and document choices.

Read More 

Comfort Care / Do Not Resuscitate Order

Seriously ill patients talk with clinicians about resuscitation and document choices.

Read More

Multi-lingual Documents, Tools & Videos

Information and FAQs

Download Fact Sheets and Frequently Asked Questions

Helpful Webpages

Lifetime Health Care Planning Roadmap

See how the health care planning works at every phase of health- from promoting everyday wellness, to managing health needs and chronic illness, and living well with serious illness. Read more about the Roadmap.

Who's Your Agent? for Care Providers

Our Who's Your Agent? Program for Care Providers and Professionals is a one-stop overview of our structured approach to health care planning. It has everything you need to confidently engage adults in conversations from simple to serious illness, and  make a care plan for the best possible care. Read about the Program for Care Providers.

Get Help In Your Community

Meet the Community Partners in 7 regions of the state. They can help you make a personal plan and connect you to care in your community.  Find a Partner in your community.

New England Planning Documents

Download state-specific documents from Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Rhode Island and Connecticut. Read more about New England documents.

Serious Illness Care

Learn about serious illness care, how to have planning conversations, and consider a MOLST or CC/DNR form. NEW: the POLST Program coming soon. Read more about Serious Illness Care.

Palliative Care

Palliative Care helps people with serious illness have an extra layer of support to relive the pain, symptoms and stress of serious illness. Helps families too. Read more about Palliative  Care.