This webpage includes Maryland law and information from the Maryland Office of the Attorney General related to advance directives.
Maryland’s Health Care Decisions Act
Beginning in the mid to late 1970s, patient-centered care gained momentum in healthcare. The Maryland Health Care Decisions Act of 1991 affirms that individuals have a right to limit the care they receive. The Act allows individuals to both name a healthcare agent and create an advance directive. A healthcare agent can step in to make medical decisions when the individual can no longer speak for themselves. An advance directive is a document expressing the patient's wishes for their healthcare decisions. The Act also clarifies the roles of families, providers, and healthcare facilities in ethical decision-making.
Completion of an advance directive helps individuals receive medical care consistent with their values and goals, improving the quality of care at the end of life. It also reduces the costs of care by decreasing the likelihood of unwanted and unnecessary life-sustaining treatments. The Maryland Health Care Decisions Act has been updated many times, most recently in 2023.
Maryland Health Care Decisions Act (as amended through 2023 legislation)
- 2022 Summary of the Act provided by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General.
- Description of "health care proxies" (those who make decisions on behalf of patients who cannot do so personally) provided by the Maryland Office of the Attorney General in 2023.
- Slideshow about the Act's framework for health care decision-making and advance directives, as well as information about the Maryland Medical Orders for
Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) form.
Other Resources
2023 Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) Maryland Public Health – Mental Health Advance Directives – Awareness and Statewide Database: An Update of Activities
2022 Maryland Health Care Commission (MHCC) Advance Directives Workgroup Report
(containing recommendations to increase the collection of health care agent information and the completion of advance directives)
2020 State Advisory Council on Quality Care at the End of Life Policy Recommendations to Increase Electronic Advance Directive Registrations
(developed and written in consultation with the Maryland Office of the Attorney General’s Division of Health Decisions Policy)
2009 Maryland Attorney General's Health Decisions Policy Workgroup Report on Hospice Care, Palliative Care and End of Life Counseling
2008 State Advisory Council on Serious Illness Care and the Maryland Health Care Commission Study of Health Care Services for Children with Life-Threatening Conditions
