This document allows a patient to define in advance what his or her wishes are should he or she become incapacitated due to illness or severe injury.

• A. Durable Power of Attorney
• B. Do Not Resuscitate
• C. Living Will
• D. Advanced Directive

Answer: (D)

Planning for medical decisions when you can’t speak for yourself is the key idea. An Advanced Directive is a legal document that lets you lay out your medical wishes in advance for when you’re incapacitated. It serves as a guide for future care and can include instructions on the kind of treatments you want or don’t want, as well as designating someone to make decisions for you if you’re unable to speak for yourself.

This makes it the best answer because it directly covers defining your wishes ahead of time for scenarios where you can’t communicate, which is exactly what the question describes. A Do Not Resuscitate order is limited to whether to perform CPR and doesn’t outline broader preferences. A Living Will is a specific type of advance directive that details which treatments you want in certain end-of-life situations, but the umbrella term advanced directive better captures the idea of planning in advance for incapacity. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care assigns another person to make decisions for you, but it doesn’t by itself specify your own wishes—it’s about who decides, not what you want.