An attending physician who refuses to comply with (i) a patient’s advance directive or (ii) the health care decision of a patient’s agent or (iii) the health care decision of an authorized person pursuant to § 54.1-2986 shall make a reasonable effort to transfer the patient to another physician and shall comply with § 54.1-2990.

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Terms Used In Virginia Code 54.1-2987

  • Advance directive: means (i) a witnessed written document, voluntarily executed by the declarant in accordance with the requirements of § Virginia Code 54.1-2982
  • Agent: means an adult appointed by the declarant under an advance directive, executed or made in accordance with the provisions of § Virginia Code 54.1-2982
  • Attending physician: means the primary physician who has responsibility for the health care of the patient. See Virginia Code 54.1-2982
  • Health care: means the furnishing of services to any individual for the purpose of preventing, alleviating, curing, or healing human illness, injury or physical disability, including but not limited to, medications; surgery; blood transfusions; chemotherapy; radiation therapy; admission to a hospital, nursing home, assisted living facility, or other health care facility; psychiatric or other mental health treatment; and life-prolonging procedures and palliative care. See Virginia Code 54.1-2982
  • Person: includes any individual, corporation, partnership, association, cooperative, limited liability company, trust, joint venture, government, political subdivision, or any other legal or commercial entity and any successor, representative, agent, agency, or instrumentality thereof. See Virginia Code 1-230
  • Physician: means a person licensed to practice medicine in the Commonwealth of Virginia or in the jurisdiction where the health care is to be rendered or withheld. See Virginia Code 54.1-2982

This section shall apply even if the attending physician determines the health care requested to be medically or ethically inappropriate.

1983, c. 532, § 54-325.8:7; 1988, c. 765; 1992, cc. 748, 772; 2000, cc. 590, 598; 2009, cc. 211, 268.