Terms Used In Florida Statutes > Chapter 765 > Part IV - Absence of Advance Directive

• Advance directive: means a witnessed written document or oral statement in which instructions are given by a principal or in which the principal's desires are expressed concerning any aspect of the principal's health care or health information, and includes, but is not limited to, the designation of a health care surrogate, a living will, or an anatomical gift made pursuant to part V of this chapter. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Health care: means care, services, or supplies related to the health of an individual and includes, but is not limited to, preventive, diagnostic, therapeutic, rehabilitative, maintenance, or palliative care, and counseling, service, assessment, or procedure with respect to the individual's physical or mental condition or functional status or that affect the structure or function of the individual's body. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Health care decision: means :
  (a) Informed consent, refusal of consent, or withdrawal of consent to any and all health care, including life-prolonging procedures and mental health treatment, unless otherwise stated in the advance directives. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Informed consent: means consent voluntarily given by a person after a sufficient explanation and disclosure of the subject matter involved to enable that person to have a general understanding of the treatment or procedure and the medically acceptable alternatives, including the substantial risks and hazards inherent in the proposed treatment or procedures, and to make a knowing health care decision without coercion or undue influence. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Persistent vegetative state: means a permanent and irreversible condition of unconsciousness in which there is:
  (a) The absence of voluntary action or cognitive behavior of any kind. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
• Physician: means a person licensed pursuant to chapter 458 or chapter 459. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Primary physician: means a physician designated by an individual or the individual's surrogate, proxy, or agent under a durable power of attorney as provided in chapter 709, to have primary responsibility for the individual's health care or, in the absence of a designation or if the designated physician is not reasonably available, a physician who undertakes the responsibility. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• provider: means any person licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by law to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Proxy: means a competent adult who has not been expressly designated to make health care decisions for a particular incapacitated individual, but who, nevertheless, is authorized pursuant to…. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Reasonably available: means readily able to be contacted without undue effort and willing and able to act in a timely manner considering the urgency of the patient's health care needs. See Florida Statutes 765.101
• Surrogate: means any competent adult expressly designated by a principal to make health care decisions and to receive health information. See Florida Statutes 765.101