North Dakota is developing an Internet registry for residents to file detailed statements about their medical treatment preferences.

The registry will allow instant access to a person's health care directives, which typically outline wishes about whether he or she wants extraordinary measures used to prolong life, such as intravenous feeding and use of a ventilator for breathing.

The directives, often referred to as living wills, are used to designate someone to make health care decisions for people who cannot do so on their own, officials say. They often convey whether a person wants to donate organs for transplants.

Secretary of State Al Jaeger said North Dakota's filing system should be available next year, when an office technology upgrade is finished. The 2009 Legislature authorized the project, which has support from medical, religious and legal groups. The enabling legislation was introduced by Sen. Tom Fiebiger, D-Fargo.

The registry is voluntary and those who use it will pay a fee, which has not been set. Directives will be electronically scanned and indexed in the secretary of state's office records system. They may be updated at any time. People who use them will get a card with information about how to access their own directives.

Because his office already serves as a repository for an assortment of records, from articles of incorporation to lien filings, it made sense to take on the responsibility of handling health care directives, Jaeger said.

"It seemed to be something that would work well in our particular system," he said. "We're just going to be the place where the information is filed."

Secretaries of state in Arizona and South Carolina already act as depositories for health care directives. Arizona, which began its program four years ago, has more than 14,000 directives registered. The state gets about 350 new directives each month, a spokeswoman said.

The North Dakota Catholic Conference, the state Department of Human Services and a number of hospitals are among the organizations that encourage North Dakotans to fill out the directives and make sure family members have copies of them.

If someone files a directive with the secretary of state's office and keeps a wallet card advertising its existence, it will make it easier for family members or health care providers to locate the document, particularly if the person is traveling away from home, Jaeger said.

"This is something that is needed and wanted, and should really make a good service," Jaeger said. "It's been on our list of things to do for some time."