False. While it is better to have a written Advance Directive, oral statements remain important both on their own and as supplements to written directives.
Oral instructions may take many forms. A person physically unable to execute an advance directive may provide oral instructions that are reduced to writing by the doctor or another person, acting for the patient. Several states treat such statements as formal Advance Directives if witnessed properly. Less formal instructions in the nature of conversations with family, friends, or physicians will not have the same legal status of a written Advance Directive.
Nevertheless, informal oral statements have two important attributes. First, good health care decision-making requires good communication among all interested parties, and oral communication is our most natural and, indeed, primary mode of communication. Ideally, a formal advance directive serves to aid this kind of communication, not to replace it. Second, oral statements constitute important evidence of one's wishes and help expand upon, clarify, and reinforce individual preferences. The contents of the written Advance Directive should reflect a continuing conversation among the individual, physician, family, and close friends.