Advance Directives and Medical Decision-Makers: Preparing Before Surgery in Colombia

Most procedures go as planned. But any surgery with anesthesia carries a small chance that, for a time, you can't make decisions for yourself. At home, your family and doctors usually know who speaks for you. In another country, with a hospital team that has never met your relatives, that question can become urgent very quickly.

This guide explains how to prepare: deciding who your medical decision-maker is, writing down your wishes, understanding Colombia's own advance-directive document, and making sure the hospital actually has the information. It isn't legal advice. Laws and hospital policies change, and a lawyer or notary in Colombia can confirm what applies to your situation.

Why this matters more when you're abroad

When a patient can't communicate, a hospital looks for two things: a documented statement of the patient's wishes, and a person with authority to speak for them. At home, those are often settled informally, by a spouse or adult child who's present and known. Abroad, several things make that harder.

• Your family may not be there. If you travel alone, or your companion isn't a relative, the team may not know who to call.
• Your documents may not travel well. A US healthcare power of attorney or living will is written for US law, in English, and the hospital may not know how to treat it.
• Language adds friction. Decisions that need nuance are harder through an interpreter, especially at night.
• Time zones and phones. A decision-maker at home needs to be reachable, and the hospital needs a working number.

Planning this ahead isn't pessimistic. It's the same reason you carry travel insurance: you hope never to use it. If you're traveling alone, our guide for solo medical travelers covers other safety planning too.

Colombia's advance directive: the documento de voluntad anticipada

Colombia has a formal advance-directive document called the documento de voluntad anticipada (literally, "document of anticipated will"), often shortened to DVA. It's regulated by the Ministry of Health's Resolución 2665 de 2018. It lets a person record, in advance, their decisions about medical care for a situation in which they can no longer express them.

According to that resolution, as summarized in Colombian health-law commentary, the document can be formalized in one of three ways:

The resolution also provides that the document is attached to the patient's clinical record. It can be modified or replaced through the same channels. Whether and how a foreign visitor uses it is something to confirm with the hospital and, if you want certainty, a Colombian lawyer or notary.

What about your documents from home?

Bring them. A US healthcare power of attorney, healthcare proxy, living will or POLST form, or a Canadian personal directive or equivalent, still communicates your wishes and who you trust, even if a Colombian hospital doesn't treat it as legally binding in the same way it would be at home.

1. Bring copies, not originals. Keep the originals at home with your decision-maker.
2. Get a Spanish translation. A clear translation helps the team understand your wishes. Ask the hospital whether it needs an official translation.
3. Ask how the hospital treats foreign documents. Put the question to the international patient office in writing, before you travel.
4. Consider a Colombian DVA as well. If the hospital suggests it, formalizing your wishes locally can remove ambiguity.
5. Make sure the documents agree. If you sign something new in Colombia, keep it consistent with your home documents, and tell your decision-maker.

What to put in writing for a planned procedure

A useful written statement for a medical trip is shorter and more specific than many people expect. You're not trying to anticipate every possible illness. You're giving a team that doesn't know you enough to act the way you'd want in the few situations that could realistically arise.

• Who speaks for you, and a backup, with relationship and phone numbers.
• Your general goals: for example, that you want full treatment for complications of an elective procedure.
• Treatments you would or wouldn't accept, such as blood transfusions, if you have a firm view. Tell your surgeon early, since this can affect whether the procedure is offered at all.
• Who may receive information about your condition, so staff know whom they can update.
• Religious or personal considerations you want the team to respect.
• Repatriation wishes: whether you'd want to be transferred home if you need prolonged care, and the insurer to contact.

Review it with your doctor at home before you leave. They can help you phrase things clearly and spot medical points that need more thought. Keep the language plain, since it will be translated.

Choosing and preparing your decision-maker

Your decision-maker should be someone who knows your values, can stay calm, and can be reached during your procedure and recovery. They don't have to be in Colombia, but it helps if they're easy to contact and comfortable with a video call to the hospital.

• Ask them directly, and make sure they're willing.
• Talk through scenarios: a complication, an unplanned ICU stay, a need to extend the trip.
• Give them copies of your documents, your itinerary, and the hospital's and surgeon's contacts.
• Share your travel insurance policy number and the insurer's emergency line.
• Agree how they'll hear from your companion, and how often.
• Name a backup, in case the first person can't be reached.

If a companion is traveling with you who isn't your decision-maker, be explicit with both of them about their roles. Our companion guide explains what a companion can practically do on the ground.

Getting it into your hospital chart

Documents only help if the right people can see them. At your pre-op consultation and on admission, make sure the information is actually recorded.

• Tell your surgeon and anesthesiologist who your decision-maker is.
• Ask admissions to record the name, relationship, phone number (with country code) and language.
• Give the international patient office copies of your documents and translations.
• Confirm who the hospital will contact first if you can't communicate.
• Add the same details to your phone's emergency contact settings.

Practical and legal limits

Some situations need a more formal arrangement than a medical directive. If you might need someone to manage money, sign contracts or deal with property while you recover, that's a separate legal instrument, and Colombian and home-country rules both matter. A lawyer is the right person for that.

It's also worth reading our guide to what happens if something goes wrong abroad, and, for the legal side of disputes, our overview of legal recourse for foreign patients. Older travelers may find our guide to medical tourism over 60 useful as well.

If you'd like help asking a Colombian hospital how it handles foreign advance directives and decision-makers, you can get in touch. We'll help you get clear answers before you travel, at no obligation.

Frequently asked questions

Will a Colombian hospital accept my US healthcare power of attorney?

It may not be treated the same way as at home. Bring a translated copy, and ask the hospital's international patient office in writing how it will handle it. They may suggest formalizing your wishes in a Colombian document too.

What is a documento de voluntad anticipada?

It's Colombia's advance-directive document, regulated by Resolución 2665 de 2018. It records your decisions about medical care for a time when you can't express them, and can be formalized before a notary, two witnesses or your treating physician.

Do I need a lawyer to prepare an advance directive for surgery in Colombia?

Not necessarily for the medical side, but a Colombian lawyer or notary can confirm current requirements. If you need someone to handle finances or property while you recover, get legal advice on that separately.

Does my decision-maker need to be in Colombia?

No, but they must be reachable. Make sure the hospital has their number with country code, that they can take video calls, and that a backup is named in case they can't be reached.

Is this only for major surgery?

Serious problems are uncommon, but any procedure with anesthesia carries some risk. Naming a decision-maker and writing down your wishes is a simple step that's worth doing for any surgery abroad.