Registering Advance Directives in the NEW! AzHDR for the First Time - How To



Arizona has a new Health Care Directives Registry through Health Current and it is LIVE. Doctors  and  hospitals  can  give  you  better  healthcare  by  sharing  your  health  information  electronically.  This  is very  important  in  emergencies.  This  sharing  is  done  electronically  through  Health Current,  Arizona’s  health information exchange  (HIE). 

Many  doctors’  offices  and  hospitals  are  switching  from  paper  medical  records  to  electronic  medical records.  During  your  most  recent  doctor’s  visit,  you probably  noticed your  doctor  using  a  laptop or tablet  to  type  in  your  health information.  Now  that  your  health  information  is  stored  safely  in  a computer,  it  can  be  shared  more  easily  among  your  doctors’  offices,  hospitals,  labs,  and  radiology centers.  

Your  health  information  is  shared  securely  through the  HIE. Secure  sharing  of  your  health  information  has  many  benefits: 

    • Better  treatment  in  an  emergency  because  your  doctors  will  have  information  about  your              allergies and  your  previous  problems. 

    • Prevention  of  errors  and  harmful  drug  interactions. 

    • Lower overall  costs  of  healthcare  by  avoiding  duplicate  tests,  procedures  and  prescriptions. 

For  details  about  how  your  health information  will  be  shared and  how  it  will  be  protected,  please  refer to  the Notice  of  Health  Information  Practices  you  received  at  your  doctor’s  office. 

If you previously had Directives registered with the Secretary of State you probably received a notice in the mail about the change and being able to opt out. Provided you did not opt out at that time, you may also have recently received a letter with your one-time user id and password. But how does one register NEW directives now? 

Be advised that if this is your first time using the registry and you did not have advance directive documents transferred over from the Secretary of State, then Health Current must first review your documents before you are able to upload them into the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry (AzHDR).  

Follow the steps below to get started.  

1. Choose and Prepare an Advance Directive to File 

Please be aware that Health Current cannot answer legal questions about how to prepare advance directives. You can use any advance directive form that meets Arizona’s requirements. To learn more about Arizona advance directives, click here to view and print the Attorney General’s Life Care Planning packet. If you do not feel comfortable preparing an advance directive by yourself, we encourage you to consult an attorney, speak with your healthcare provider(s), or contact one of the many organizations listed in the AzHDR;s “Arizona Resources for Advance Care Planning” document guide, posted on healthcurrent.org/azhdr

2. Types of Documents that can be Filed with the AzHDR 

Only advance directives defined by Arizona law can be included in the registry. These include living will, health care power of attorney, mental healthcare power of attorney and the pre-hospital medical care directive/DNR. Addendums that concern your future healthcare wishes or a POLST document can be attached to your living will or health care power of attorney document. You can access a complete Life Care Planning packet from the Attorney General's website.

Financial documents, estate planning documents, last will and testament documents and trust documents cannot be included in the registry; If they are submitted, they will be securely shredded. 

3. Instructions for Filing Your Advance Directive(s) in the AzHDR 

A completed and signed Registration Agreement needs to be included with your advance directives. At present, you can continue to use the Secretary of State Registration Agreement; Health Current’s AzHDR Registration Agreement is coming soon. If you would like to receive communications by email, please be sure to add your email address to the Registration Agreement along with your mailing address. Information on the agreement must be legible and clear to be accepted. You are welcome to type your responses if you prefer. 

Do not send original forms to the registry; send only copies of originals. These documents cannot be returned once they have been uploaded into the registry. 

Mail your forms to: 
Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry – Health Current 
3877 N. 7th St., Ste. 150 
Phoenix, AZ 85014 

Or submit via email to documents@azhdr.org  

4. Verification Process  

Once Health Current has received your documents, they will review them and verify that they have been completed according to Arizona Statutes (A.R.S. §36-224, §36.3286, §36-3232, §36.3262). You will be sent a letter or email stating that your documents have been received and processed. 

If no corrections are required, you will be provided your login information to set up your account in the AzHDR and complete your wallet card with your chosen credentials. 

If corrections to your documents are needed, you will receive a notification of the required modification(s). You will also receive sign-up instructions to set up your AzHDR account and can make these changes by uploading new documents into the AzHDR, or via postal mail or email.  

5. Activation of Your Directives 

Once you have received the letter stating your documents were reviewed and no corrections were needed, they will then be active in the AzHDR and available for viewing to anyone who has your username and password credentials (most likely shared via AzHDR wallet card). 

Note: The wallet card should only be shared with trusted loved ones, caregivers and/or healthcare providers. 

6. Updates to Your AzHDR Account 

Once you have set up your AzHDR account, you can then make demographic changes to your profile. 

If you want to update an advance directive document at any point, you will need to fill out a new Registration Agreement and check the box to replace a directive in the registry. You can upload the new Registration Agreement and updated directive form directly into your AzHDR account or you can mail or email them using the instructions above. 

So, when did you last update your health care directives? Do you still want the same Agents to serve? Are your decisions with regard to the end of your life still the same? If it's time to review your estate plan (hint: Has it been more than 3 years since you've looked at it?) our plan review form is available online to help you decide whether you have updates to make or not. 

You can learn more about estate planning through our training available on YouTube, and learn how to receive your $750 Life and Legacy Planning Session for FREE by calling 480.999.4455 or emailing info@eastonlawpllc.com and mentioning this article. 

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