Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.6 – Physician, health care provider, and licensed emergency medical services practitioner responsibility
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.6
- Attending physician: means the physician who has primary responsibility for the treatment and care of the patient. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- Declaration: means a witnessed document, statement, or expression voluntarily made by the declarant, authorizing the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining procedures, in accordance with the requirements of this Subpart. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- Do-not-resuscitate identification bracelet: means a standardized bracelet as described in Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- Health care provider: means any health maintenance organization, home health agency, hospice, hospital, or nursing facility. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- person: includes a body of persons, whether incorporated or not. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 1:10
- Physician: means a physician or surgeon licensed by the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners or by the official licensing authority of another state. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- Qualified patient: means a patient diagnosed and certified in writing as having a terminal and irreversible condition by two physicians who have personally examined the patient, one of whom shall be the attending physician. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- Registry: means a registry for declarations established and maintained by the secretary of state pursuant to this Subpart. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
- Terminal and irreversible condition: means a continual profound comatose state with no reasonable chance of recovery or a condition caused by injury, disease, or illness which, within reasonable medical judgment, would produce death and for which the application of life-sustaining procedures would serve only to postpone the moment of death. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1151.1
A. Any attending physician who has been notified of the existence of a declaration made under this Subpart or at the request of the proper person as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 40:1151.4 or La. Rev. Stat. 40:1151.5 upon diagnosis of a terminal and irreversible condition of the patient, or who on his own determines the existence of a declaration on file in the registry, shall take necessary steps to provide for written certification of the patient’s terminal and irreversible condition, so that the patient may be deemed to be a qualified patient as defined in La. Rev. Stat. 40:1151.1.
B. Any attending physician who refuses to comply with the declaration of a qualified patient or declaration otherwise made pursuant to this Subpart shall make a reasonable effort to transfer the patient to another physician.
C. No provision of this Subpart imposes a duty upon the physician or health care facility to make a search of the registry for the existence of a declaration.
D. If the policies of a health care provider preclude compliance with the declaration of a qualified patient under this Subpart or preclude compliance with the provisions pertaining to a representative acting on behalf of a qualified patient, then the provider shall take all reasonable steps to transfer the patient to a provider with which the provisions of this Subpart can be effectuated.
E. Licensed emergency medical services practitioners shall make a reasonable effort to detect the presence of a do-not-resuscitate identification bracelet on the patient.
Acts 1984, No. 382, §1; Acts 1985, No. 187, §1, eff. July 6, 1985; Acts 1991, No. 194, §1; Acts 1991, No. 320, §1; Acts 1999, No. 641, §1, eff. July 1, 1999; Acts 2012, No. 789, §2, eff. June 13, 2012; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 40:1299.58.7 by HCR 84 of 2015 R.S.