A partnership between Google Health and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization's Caring Connections provides a way to store and access a patient's advanced directives online.

The "living will" feature on Google Health enables users to download a free, state-specific advance directive and store the scanned documents securely online. Officials say this will help overcome a common barrier in emergency healthcare situations, where it can be difficult to access a patient's advance directive when the patient is terminally ill and no longer able to communicate. This document provides specific information to healthcare professionals and can help guide family caregivers called upon to make decisions on behalf of that person.

"How can medical professionals honor your healthcare wishes and preferences if they don't know what they are?" said J. Donald Schumacher, president and CEO of the NHPCO. "Advance directives are useless unless they are available during emergency healthcare situations. Google Health will make these documents accessible online and will eliminate a huge barrier of access during times of need."

Caring Connections, a national consumer and community engagement initiative to improve care at the end of life, is supported by a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and reportedly the only provider that offers free, state-specific, online advance directives.
 
"The decision to sign an advance directive is an important and personal one, and Google Health now makes it a little bit easier," said Julie Wilner, program manager for Google Health, and Roni Zeiger, MD, product manager for Google Health, on Google's blog.

"We hope someday we'll move beyond paper, but until then Google Health can help you store your paper medical records electronically, including an advance directive, in one safe place," they said.