Sec. 37. (a) A health care provider furnished with a copy of a declarant‘s advance directive shall make the declarant’s advance directive a part of the declarant’s medical records. If a change in or termination of the advance directive becomes known to the health care provider, the change or termination must be noted in the declarant’s medical records.

     (b) If a health care provider believes that an individual may lack the capacity to give informed consent to health care, then, until the individual is determined to have capacity under section 35 of this chapter, the health care provider shall consult with:

(1) a health care representative designated by the declarant; or

(2) if a health care representative has not been designated or if a health care representative is not reasonably available to act, a proxy under section 42 of this chapter;

who has authority and priority to act and who is reasonably available to act.

     (c) Subject to the right of a competent declarant to directly make and communicate health care decisions for the declarant and to rescind a health care decision by a health care representative who is designated in an advance directive, the following conditions apply:

(1) A health care provider may continue to administer treatment for the declarant’s comfort, care, or the alleviation of pain in addition to treatment made under the decision of the health care representative.

(2) Subject to subdivision (3), a health care provider shall comply with a health care decision made by a health care representative if the decision is communicated to the provider.

(3) If a health care provider is unwilling to comply with a health care decision made by a health care representative, the provider shall do the following:

(A) Notify the health care representative of the health care provider’s unwillingness to comply with the decision.

(B) Promptly take all steps necessary to transfer the responsibility for the declarant’s health care to another health care provider designated by the health care representative. However, a health care provider who takes steps for a transfer does not have a duty to look for or identify another health care provider who will accept the declarant.

However, if a health care provider is unwilling to comply with a health care decision made by a health care representative, and the declarant’s health condition would make transfer of the declarant untenable or unadvisable, this subsection does not prohibit the health care provider from following the health care provider’s dispute resolution procedure with the objective of reaching a decision in the best interest of the declarant.

As added by P.L.50-2021, SEC.63.