healthcare proxy

American

[helth-kair prok-see] / ˈhɛlθˌkɛər ˌprɒk si /

Or health-care proxy

noun

a legal document in which a person can appoint someone to make decisions for them about medical treatment in the event that they are no longer mentally competent or able to communicate.

Etymology

Origin of healthcare proxy

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A longtime college friend serves as her healthcare proxy, and Kant maintains a spreadsheet of friends to coordinate visits when she’s ill.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 31, 2026

If he does not already have a healthcare proxy or healthcare power of attorney, and your brother is not of sound mind, the courts will appoint one for him.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 27, 2026

You suggested every adult have a power of attorney and healthcare proxy.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2025

This is where you need to have a healthcare proxy named as well, so someone can execute the medical decisions.

From Salon • Aug. 30, 2020

We’re going to start to have to have some really hard conversations with their family members or their healthcare proxy, if they have one, about what to do next.

From Slate • Apr. 23, 2020

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023