Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
About Mind My Health
Mind My Health is a free online tool that helps you keep your care plan in check. Created by healthcare experts, MMH’s innovative experience stores your advance care plan in our secure cloud-based registry, making it easy to access your plan whenever and wherever you need it.
When you upload your advance care plan document to Mind My Health, it is stored in a secure, cloud-based registry. You can access it or update it anytime you want from any computer or mobile device. You can also download your advance care plan document to share with loved ones and your doctor so they completely understand your health choices.
Yes! Mind My Health is completely free to use. MMH is a nonprofit project developed by healthcare experts with launch funding from the Duke Endowment and support from patient advocacy organizations and hospital systems. We will never charge you to use our website. We will also never sell your data. We believe you should be able to own all of your health decisions, including your advance care.
It is important that the email address you will be using to log in to Mind My Health is one that belongs to you. By having you verify email address, we are able to make sure you correctly entered your email address and have access to your account.
With the launch of Mind My Health, we are just beginning to expand the ways in which technology will make it easier to own your advance care planning. Linking your care plan to a hospital system ensures that future enhancements offer you more opportunities to connect your care plan to the people and medical professionals who need to know.
Yes. You are still able to upload and access your care plan document from any device. We are not able to verify that your uploaded document meets your state's legal requirements for an advance care plan. To align your health care planning to your state's laws, please consult a legal expert in preparing your advance care plan.
Yes. You are still able to upload and access your care plan document from any device. We are not able to verify that your uploaded document meets your state's legal requirements for an advance care plan. To align your health care planning to your state's laws, please consult a legal expert in preparing your advance care plan.
Many individuals are unable to find and share their advance care plans on paper when family, caregivers, and medical professionals need them. By uploading and securing your plan online, your advance care plan is easier to find and share with those who need to know your healthcare choices. Our goal is to ensure that your health decisions are communicated easily, securely and effectively to the people and professionals you choose.
Mind My Health stores your advance care plan in our secure, online registry.
Yes! Congratulations on keeping your advance care in check. If your advance care plan document meets state requirements, you are ready to upload it. Your next step is to make sure your document meets our technical requirements. Once ready, upload your advance care plan to Mind My Health. If you are unsure that your advance care plan meets your state's requirements, please consult a legal professional. For those living North Carolina, here is a list of the state's requirements.
Only you can access your own advance care plan directly through Mind My Health. You are able to download your advance care plan from Mind My Health, print it, and share your printed document with your family, friend, or caregiver. You are also able to download your advance care plan from Mind My Health and send the PDF document by email attachment to our family, friend, or caregiver. Your family, friend, or caregiver cannot directly access your securely stored document on Mind My Health.
Mind My Health is not responsible for the authenticity nor guarantees use of your document at a healthcare institution. It is the user's responsibility to meet legal requirements and communicate to their caregivers and medical professionals the contents of their advance care plan. We recommend printing a copy of your advance care document to have available to your caregivers or medical professionals in case of emergency.
To access your document, log in to Mind My Health and select the "Download Document" button on your Dashboard. If you are having trouble logging in, click here.
Mind My Health accepts a single advance care plan document. That document must be in the form of an Adobe Acrobat PDF. Your document may contain more than one page, but the filesize must be no more than 25MB. If you have more than one advance care document, consider combining your document into a single PDF or making a new one based upon our provided templates for North Carolina and South Carolina.
Mind My Health is your tool to keep your advance care plan in check. Currently, we provide secure online storage only for your advance care plan document. Learn more about what is an advance care document. Any uploaded documents that do not meet the intended use of this web application will be subject to systemic deletion without the knowledge of the user.
Yes! Everyone has the right and responsibility to own their health care decisions, and an advance care plan is an important way to communicate your choices with your family, caregivers, and medical professionals. Learn more about why you should plan.
Yes. In addition to securely storing your document on Mind My Health, we still recommend holding onto a paper copy and making it available to family, caregivers, and medical professionals. Be sure to throw away old advance care plans since they might have different wishes that could be confusing for your care team.
You are able to download your advance care plan from Mind My Health, print it, and share your printed document with your doctor. You are also able to download your advance care plan from Mind My Health and send the PDF document by email attachment to your doctor. Your doctor cannot directly access your securely stored document on Mind My Health.
You are able to download your advance care plan from Mind My Health, print it, and share your printed document with your family, friend, or caregiver. You are also able to download your advance care plan from Mind My Health and send the PDF document by email attachment to our family, friend, or caregiver. Your family, friend, or caregiver cannot directly access your securely stored document on Mind My Health unless you share your log in information with them.
Organ donation is the act of giving organs, eyes and tissue to those in need. One donor can save and heal the lives of more than 75 people—that is quite a legacy of love and hope! The donor estate does not incur any expense for the donation of organs, eyes or tissue. To learn more about the different types of organ donation visit https://www.donatelife.net/types-of-donation/.
The need for organ donation in the United States is tremendous. More than 115,000 people in the United States are waiting for a life-saving transplant. One donor can save and heal more than 75 lives! Every major world religion supports organ, eye and tissue donation as an act of charity and love for neighbor. To learn more about the official stance of your faith group, visit https://unos.org/donation/facts/theological-perspective-on-organ-and-tissue-donation/.
Deciding if you want to be an organ, eye and tissue donor is an important part of your advance care plan, and is a decision that should be shared with your family. There are two ways to join the organ, eye and tissue donor registry. You can register online HERE without a trip to the DMV, OR you can say “yes” at the DMV when you renew your driver’s license or ID. Your selection on Mind My Health will not sign you up to be an organ donor—you must either register online or at the DMV! If you want to know more about how organ donation is an important decision in advance care planning, click here. Ready to save lives by being an organ donor, start here.
Anyone over the age of 16 can join the organ, eye and tissue donor registry. There is no age limit on donation, and you could still be a donor even if you had pre-existing illnesses. Additionally, all major world religions support organ, eye and tissue donation as an act of charity and love of neighbor.
Mind My Health is a project of Health Sciences Health Innovations Group and was originally created in partnership with The Carolinas Center (TCC), a nonprofit hospice association with members in North Carolina and South Carolina. TCC developed Mind My Health in partnership with the support of a grant from The Duke Endowment to expand access in the Carolinas to creation and accessible storage of Advance Care Planning Documents.
Many physicians are affiliated with a hospital system, so start by asking your physician if they belong to a hospital system. You can also ask them what system your nearest hospital belongs to.
Medicare does not operate hospitals or doctor’s offices, so it is not a hospital system. Check with your doctor about their hospital system or ask them what the system for the nearest hospital is.
This is the date your advance care document is active legally. It aligns to the final date of a notarization or date identified on the document at the time of signing (whichever represents its legal date).
The advance directive is a legal document that guides an individual’s care. We cannot accept a document written for another person. The owner of the Mind My Health account must align to the person whose health decisions are reflected in the document.
Understanding My Plan
An advance directive is a legal document which allows you to record your healthcare wishes in case you can no longer speak for yourself. It has two parts. The first is called a Living Will. It lets you choose what kind of treatment you would want if you could not speak for yourself. The second part is called a Healthcare Power of Attorney. It allows you to select a trusted person to speak on your behalf about your care if you cannot speak for yourself. Each state has its own version. View our recommended version for North Carolina here. View our recommended version for South Carolina here.
An Advance Directive allows you to keep your voice in your care no matter what. With an advance directive, you provide clear instructions for your care to family, caregivers, and medical professionals.. You can also give legal power to a trusted loved one to speak for you. Learn more about why an advance care plan is important for owning your health here.
Yes. The DNR tells the health team if you want cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or to be put on a ventilator to breathe. An Advance Directive documents your wishes for life-sustaining treatment such as a feeding tube and your desired Healthcare agent.
A Living Will is a legal document that lets you specify what medical treatment you want in certain situations. The types of treatment you can include vary by state.
Every state has specific requirements for consideration of a Living Will. If you are not aware of your state's requirements, please seek legal counsel. In North Carolina, you can use your Living Will to detail your preferences for "Life-Sustaining treatments." These treatments include things that will help keep you alive. Examples include a feeding tube, a breathing machine, or dialysis.
A health care power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to name a person to serve as your "Healthcare Agent." Your agent is able to make decisions about your care if you are not able to make care decisions yourself.
Your agent can make almost any healthcare decision you would normally make. If you have documented specific preferences in a living will (e.g. you do not want a feeding tube), your healthcare agent cannot change these wishes.
The types of care decisions your agent can make include:
The types of care decisions your agent can make include:
- Starting or stopping life prolonging measures
- Decisions on pain medication
- Choosing your doctors and facilities
Your healthcare agent will make decisions for you if you are no longer able to make them for yourself. In North Carolina, your doctor declares when you cannot make your own healthcare decisions.
When choosing your agent, you want to make sure it is someone with whom you feel comfortable sharing your wishes. Commonly, people will appoint a spouse, family member, or a close friend to be their agent.
There are some restrictions on who can be your agent. Your agent must be at least 18 years old. If you live in North Carolina, your agent cannot be your healthcare provider.
There are some restrictions on who can be your agent. Your agent must be at least 18 years old. If you live in North Carolina, your agent cannot be your healthcare provider.
If your form does not meet the legal requirements for your state's guidelines, you may need to create a new plan. To do this, you can use a resource of your choice or use the "Create a Plan" on your dashboard through Mind My Health to access a free form from your state.
As long as your document was legally valid in the state where you made it, you can use it in North Carolina.
Filling out My Plan
You do not need a lawyer to complete an advance care plan. However, if you have questions, a lawyer can help you better understand your document and complete it to meet your state's requirements.
You should talk to everyone that will be involved in your care. That may be family members, close friends, caregivers, and your doctor. Making sure they understand your wishes will help them honor your decisions.
Each state has a unique set of requirements. For example, advance care plans for a person living in North Carolina must be signed by two witnesses that meet the state's requirements in addition to a notary. We are not able to verify that uploaded documents meet a state's legal requirements for an advance care plan. To align your health care planning to your state's laws, please consult a legal expert in preparing your advance care plan.
Most states require your document to be verified by witnesses and/or a notary. This is done to reduce the risk of fraud. Consult with a local attorney to learn more about your state's requirements.
A notary is a person certified by state governments to act as a witness and make sure that a document is free of fraud. For some states, a notary is required to sign that they were present when you and your witnesses sign your advance care plan.
Many healthcare offices and hospitals have a notary. have a notary. Also, many states have a directory. For example, North Carolina's registry of notaries is located here.
Each state has different requirements. If you live in a state other than North Carolina or South Carolina, please consult with an attorney in your state.
If you live in North Carolina and are using the North Carolina Simple form (this is the blank form provided for NC residents by Mind My Health), your witnesses must be at least eighteen years old.
They cannot be:
- Related to you by blood or marriage
- Your heir, or a person named to receive a portion of your estate in your will
- Someone who has a claim against you or against your estate.
- Your doctor, other health care provider, or an employee of a hospital in which you are a patient, or an employee of the nursing home or adult care home where you live.
If you live in South Carolina and are using the South Carolina Health Care Power of Attorney form (this is the blank form provided for SC residents by Mind My Health), your witness cannot be:
- Your spouse, your children, grandchildren, and other lineal descendants; your parents, grandparents, and other lineal ancestors; your siblings and their lineal descendants; or a spouse of any of these persons.
- A person who is directly financially responsible for your medical care
- A person who is named in your will, or, if you have no will, who would inherit your property be intestate succession
- A beneficiary of a life insurance policy on your life
- The persons named in the health care power of attorney form as your agent or successor agent
- Your physician or an employee of your physician
- Any person who would have a claim against any portion of your estate (perhaps to whom you owe money)
- If you are a patient in a health facility, no more than one witness may be an employee of that facility
Help and Troubleshooting
To upload your plan, click "Upload My Plan" button on your dashboard. Select a single PDF no larger than 5MB in filesize. Your document can be a single page or have multiple pages, but it must be one document. Once selected, complete the fields, and we will securely store your document.
A member of Mind My Health may change or delete their advance care plan. To update your plan to a newer version, you must first delete your current advance care plan. To delete your advance care plan, you must select 'Delete Document' from the document bar on your Dashboard. You must then confirm the deletion. Then, select the button to 'Upload Your File' to select your new advance care plan. To avoid confusion, you can only store one form at a time, so your old form must be deleted. We also recommend discarding your old paper form and keeping only the updated advance care plan so that your loved ones will not be confused about which form to use .
To delete your advance care plan, you must select 'Delete Document' from the document bar on your Dashboard. You must then confirm the deletion.
When you sign up for Mind My Health, you should only upload your own advance care plan document. You are welcome to assist a loved one with creating an account, but all documentation should be done in their name with their consent.
If you forget your password you can recover it by clicking 'Reset Password' from the Login screen. We will send you an email with instructions for setting a new password.
Your state requires that two witnesses sign your advance care plan document for it to become legally recognized. When our team was verifying your document, we found that your document is missing a signature for at least one of the witnesses. Please have your witnesses sign the document in the presence of a notary so that your document can become officially recognized.
Your state requires that a notary sign and stamp your document for it to become legally recognized. When our team was verifying your document, we noted that your documents lacks the signature or stamp of a notary. Please have a notary sign your document so that it can become legally recognized. Your witnesses also must sign the document again in the presence of the notary.
You must sign your document for it to be legally recognized. When our team was verifying your document, we noted that your signature is missing from your document presently. Please sign and date your document so that it can become legally recognized.
Mind My Health requires that any document that you upload belongs to you so that we can make sure your loved ones and healthcare team can access your plan through your profile. When our team was verifying your document we noticed that the document you uploaded has a name that does not match the name you used when registering. Please make sure you upload a document belonging to you. If your legal name does not match the name you used to register for Mind My Health, please correct the name in your profile tab on the dashboard so we can help your medical team and loved ones can match your document to you.
There was an error when you uploaded your document. Please resubmit the scan of your advance directive so you and your loved ones can have acccess to your care wishes.
In order for your healthcare wishes to be honored, our team needs to be able to verify your document meets the legal requirements in your state. Unfortunately, your document cannot be verified since it cannot be read by our team. Please make sure your original document and your scanned copy are legible and resubmit a copy.
Care Contacts are individuals (family, friends, caregivers, health care providers or spiritual advisors) you select to access your advance care planning documents when needed. You will “invite” them from the Mind My Health platform.
At this time, Users can invite up to three unique individuals with unique email addresses to serve as their Care Contacts
Users can click on the Care Contact they wish to remove and simply select the “delete contact option” at the bottom of the pop-up window. For further assistance, please contact our support team at https://www.mindmyhealth.org/contact
Yes, in order to be a Care Contact for a User, the person must create a Mind My Health account with their own username and password. They are not, however, required to upload their own advance care planning document.