title: [Different forms of patient advance directives and their importance to particular groups of people].
abstract: The emergence of advanced directives has different causes and was influenced by different circumstances. Also the goal which an individual wants to achieve with an advanced directive is different from one case to another. It is difficult to create an advance directive which suits all persons and situations and the existing forms also reflect ideas and values of the organization who issue the templates for advanced directives. For the individual it is difficult to choose the right one among the different forms and templates of the many organizations. Generally, information is a core issue when establishing an advance directive and it heightens the validity of an advanced directive. Therefore counseling opportunities for the general public, patients and continuing education for professionals in the health care field should be offered.
authors.affiliation: GGG Voluntas, Basel, Schweiz. lack.peter@ggg-voluntas.ch
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lack
mesh_terms: D016223:Advance Directives / Q000145:classification* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D028701:Patient Rights / Q000145:classification; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations