N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-K – Implementation and review of decisions
§ 2994-k. Implementation and review of decisions. 1. Hospitals shall adopt written policies requiring implementation and regular review of decisions to withhold or withdrew life-sustaining treatment in accordance with accepted medical standards. Hospitals shall also develop policies in accord with accepted medical standards regarding documentation of clinical determinations and decisions by surrogates and health care providers pursuant to this article.
Terms Used In N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-K
- Attending practitioner: means a physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant, selected by or assigned to a patient pursuant to hospital policy, who has primary responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Decision-making capacity: means the ability to understand and appreciate the nature and consequences of proposed health care, including the benefits and risks of and alternatives to proposed health care, and to reach an informed decision. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Health care: means any treatment, service, or procedure to diagnose or treat an individual's physical or mental condition. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Hospital: means a general hospital, a residential health care facility, or hospice. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Life-sustaining treatment: means any medical treatment or procedure without which the patient will die within a relatively short time, as determined by an attending physician to a reasonable degree of medical certainty. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Nurse practitioner: means a nurse practitioner certified pursuant to § 6910 of the education law who is practicing in accordance with subdivision three of § 6902 of the education law. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Patient: means a person admitted to a hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Reasonably available: means that a person to be contacted can be contacted with diligent efforts by an attending physician, another person acting on behalf of an attending physician, or the hospital. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
- Surrogate: means the person selected to make a health care decision on behalf of a patient pursuant to section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this article. See N.Y. Public Health Law 2994-A
2. If a decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment has been made pursuant to this article, and an attending practitioner determines at any time that the decision is no longer appropriate or authorized because the patient has regained decision-making capacity or because the patient's condition has otherwise improved, the physician, nurse practitioner or physician assistant shall immediately:
(a) include such determination in the patient's medical record;
(b) cancel any orders or plans of care implementing the decision to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment;
(c) notify the person who made the decision to withhold or withdraw treatment, or, if that person is not reasonably available, to at least one person on the surrogate list highest in order of priority listed when persons in prior classes are not reasonably available pursuant to subdivision one of section twenty-nine hundred ninety-four-d of this article; and
(d) notify the hospital staff directly responsible for the patient's care of any cancelled orders or plans of care.