Best Practice Guidelines on Advance Medical Directives

Healthcare practitioners have an ethical duty to respect and uphold patients' rights to self-determination and to help implement their wishes smoothly. Advance Medical Directives (AMDs) are essential tools to ensure patients' end-of-life healthcare choices are honored when they can no longer communicate their decisions. The introduction of the Advance Decision on Life-Sustaining Treatment Ordinance by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in November 2024 marks a significant milestone for Hong Kong.

In this context, the Academy’s Professionalism and Ethics Committee (PEC) is pleased to announce the publication of the ‘Best Practice Guidelines on Advance Medical Directives’, developed by the Task Force on AMD under the PEC. This set of best practice guidelines (BPG) aims to equip healthcare practitioners with the necessary knowledge to navigate the complex process of AMDs in the legal, ethical, and practical dimensions. By adopting these best practices, healthcare practitioners can enhance the quality of care of the terminally ill patients and reduce potential conflicts with their relatives.

Click here to read or download the BPG.